


For the Clan

by barelyfunctionalflamingo



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-12 04:28:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28879491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barelyfunctionalflamingo/pseuds/barelyfunctionalflamingo
Summary: The Mandalorian is trying to get back to his normal life- collecting bounties and traveling the galaxy in his new ship (an Old Republic piece of junk, but , hey, it flies). On a tiny planet, he enlists the help of a local to catch a quarry. Unfortunately, that local guy has a past of his own that gets stirred up while helping Mando. What else can Mando do but offer him a ride to another planet to start over?Or course, it's Mando so things get complicated, especially when he starts to really care about his new friend. But who is he? What is he hiding?
Relationships: Din Djarin & Original Character(s), Original Imperial Characters/Original Rebel Alliance Characters (Star Wars)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 11





	1. Lucky/Unlucky

**Author's Note:**

> I know you can guess where this is going, but I had to get it out of my head.  
> Set after season 2. My suggestions for season 3.  
> I'll keep adding if l keep thinking of more stuff to write/if I'm not laughed out of the universe for this.  
> Please be kind! I usually only write fantasy, but I can't get Mando out of my head.

He was unloading supplies when he first saw the glint of armor from across the field that served as the town's landing pad. He wondered, watching the metal clad man walk away from an old, abused ship that had seen better days.  
Fully in the sun, the reflection off of him was blinding. He hope this stranger hadn't come to hide, because there was no way he wasn't attracting the attention of every person in the settlement right now.  
With a shrug, he shook his shaggy brown hair and grabbed another crate off the transport ship.  
It wasn't until later, when he was surrounded by crates, double-checking the order, when he noticed a commotion near the shiny man. It seemed as though every one of the local thugs wanted the armor for himself, and were forcefully trying to take it.  
“Kriffing hell.” he muttered, tossing his clipboard aside before jogging over. He tripped one man from behind, using his back as a step up to get a better angle from which to kick the next one's face. He glanced down at the shiny man, who was in the dirt, but was pulling himself up, taking on two opponents at once.  
He thought, moving on to duck under a clumsily thrown punch, stepping up, and throwing the offender into the guy he'd tripped, who was just getting to his feet (rotten luck, that.)  
By the time they crashed to the ground, the modulated grunts from behind him had stopped and the shiny man faced the rest with a blaster in his hand.  
his brain whispered, the word shoved tot he back of his mind with rh rest if the stuff he had tried to forget.  
“Anyone else?” he challenged, shaking a lock of hair out of his face.  
“You'll pay for this one, boy.” the thug nearest him (the one he'd kicked in the face) spat.  
He tried not to wince at the sight of the guy's smashed nose, looking up at him sarcastically instead. “Promises.” he sighed. He waited until they left, then headed back to his crates.  
“Thank you.” A sorry modulated voice said from behind him.  
“Just doing what's necessary. Can't let the local thugs think they can grab whatever they want. Don't worry, Mando.” he paused to turn and look into the T visor of the Mandalorian's helmet. “You'll get used to them trying to attack you for shiny things.”  
He had mae it back, his clipboard in hand, trying to figure out where he'd let off, when the cool presence approached to stand behind him. He let out an annoyed tick, then decided to ignore it as he went aboard the transport for another crate. He saw the Mandalorian out of the corner of his eye as he carried it back to the pile. Check the clipboard, back for another crate. Another crate. Another check. Another crate, this one heavier than the others, but still manageable.  
“Do you need help?” Mando asked finally.  
“No.” he huffed, standing straight and wiping the beads of sweat off his brow. “Do you?”  
“I'm looking for someone. A man named Lucien.”  
“Sounda about right.” The brown haired man smiled slightly. “Well, you just about killed half his men. Any one of them could tell you where to find him. My guess is they went to the cantina to lick their wounds.” He pointed at a building in the distance. He sensed the Mandalorian's hesitation and added. “They won't attack you in there. It's been declared a safe zone. Owner got tired of fixing the furniture every time they had a disagreement and threatened to close the next time it happened. It's the only bar in town, so they listened.”  
“Thank you...”  
“Calian.” the name rolls off his tongue easily. Well, as easily as ten years of practice got him.  
“Thank you, Calian.” Mando said gratefully. “I hope someday I can repay your kindness.”  
“Good luck.” Calian called behind him.  
Mando waved a hand at him, not bothering to turn around. Calian shook his head and continued to work.  
The transport was gone and the last of the crates were being taken away when Calian looked up at they sky and sighed. He hated delivery days. Of course, he was practically the only employee who could count, so it was his job to make sure the correct amounts or materials were delivered to the customer. Nevermind that meant that he had to interact with the pilots and the occasional passenger. Nevermind that it scares the ever loving kriff out of him he approached someone new, wondering if they would recognize him. Which was silly, he knew. Everyone who had know him was dead. Everyone else thought he was dead.  
Or... They should have. There was that inciddent with the Imperial officer about ten years ago, which was what had brought him to this barely inhabited dirt all of a planet, counting shipments and sorting deliveries. It was too bad, he thought as he walked through the town to the room he rented on the second floor of a rickety old house. He'd like being the charming and affably Mundy. But he had let himself relax too much and the Empire had come looking. So he was forced to leave, becoming the cautious and always observant Calian.  
“Cal, about the rent,” his landlord approached him as he climbed the stairs.  
“Right here, Mari.” he dropped more that the required credits into her palm as he passed. He didn't want to have a conversation. No, he needed a shower and some rest. Maybe that would help him to not make any more incredibly stupid decisions like throwing himself between a stranger and Lucien's most ruthless henchmen.  
Why, why, why had he done that? It was only going to cause more trouble later. And for what? A stranger's thanks? By his insincere (he suspected) offer to help Cal with his job? He scoffed to himself.

He could almost hear it. The gently accented, lilting voice.  
He thought to himself harshly, yanking the water on so the sound could drown out whatever other stupid thoughts he had.  
…  
The next morning found him it Mari's garden, dropping in sweat, covered in dirt, and loving every minute of it. He'd rigged his datapad to play his favorite music, hooked it up to a couple of modded out around speakers, and turned it up loud. This was how life was supposed to be, he thought, digging up so root veggies. No counting , no thinking, just himself, a shovel, and the song he was singing at the top of his lungs“Hey! Hey, kid!” A modulated shout fang out behind him.  
Forgetting to be startled, Cal turned to see the Mandalorian on the other side on Mari's short fence.  
“Could you not?” he said before he could stop himself.  
Mando's helmet title to the left quizzically, as if he hadn't quite figured something out, and Cal unconsciously mirrored the movement, studying the visor carefully.  
“I'm working.” Cal said needlessly.  
“So am I. But I need you help.” Mando admitted, concentrating past the music which echoed through his helmet making so much noise he could barely hear himself speak.  
Cal seemed to notice this, walking over to punch it off. “Didn't I already help you?” he asked, again unable to control his mouth.  
Mando looked at him, what could have been a puff of air coming from his modulator. “I need someone who can fight.” he explained. “I can pay you.”  
Cal rubbed the back of his head with a dirty hand. “Bounty hunter?” he guess.  
“Yes.”  
“Work for the guild?”  
“Yes.”  
Cal nodded. This was the tricky part. “Imperial?”  
“No.” The growl that came out was unmistakable.  
“I had to ask.” Cal said, holding his hands up apologetically. He paused to look at the house horizon, thinking. He didn't mind getting rid of Lucien, but who would claim his spot? Hopefully not someone worse. He weighed his odds, knowing that Lucien could be out for his head soon. He could thank doing ‘the right thing’ for that. But anyone who came up after him would probably not care about him. Unless it was that guy whose face he'd kicked, Arg something-or-other.  
“I don't want any pay.” he decided.  
“You want something else?” Mando asked, wanting to compensate Cal for his time somehow. “Do you need help in your garden?” he offered uncertainly.

Cal looked out over the garden, letting out a puff of air to get his hair out of his eyes.“It's my landlord's.” Cal told him. “But, yeah, okay.”  
Mando easily jumped the short fence and stood next to him. Cal handed him the shovel and pointed. “Dig up those plants and harvest all but the smallest bulb in each. That you replant about two inches deep. Separate the bulbs from the leaves. Greens go there's bulbs go there. Try not to get your beskar too dirty.”  
Mando gave him what could only be an indignant look. Cal snickered as he walked into the house.  
“I'll put some water in the shed for you.” he said.  
The morning passed into afternoon with the two of them working side by side, one occasionally helping the other with a difficult task. It wasn't until after lunch has passed that Mando got the nerve to ask what he'd wanted to since he'd met the man.  
“Where did you learn to fight like that?” he asked as he passed him an armful of stalks”  
Cal stuffed them into the compost bin, straightening to stretch his back. He took a deep breath to tamp down his feelings. Lying wasn't hard, but he never liked it. Especially to this one, he thought with a stab of annoyance. Still, if he wanted to remain anonymous…  
“You pick stuff up, living out here.” he said simply.  
“I saw you. That wasn't just you copying a few moves.” Mando insisted.  
“Like I said, I've lived here a while. So I learned some stuff. Does it matter if I was taught by someone or not? It still saved you.” Cal retorted, a bit harsher than he meant to.  
“Okay, okay.” Mando held his hands up. “I was just asking.”  
“Sorry.” Cal sighed. “I didn't mean to for that to come out the way it did. It's been a long…” Life, he thought. “Week.” he said instead, smoothing out the ripples of his feeling so it would look more like the truth. “What do you need me for anyway?” he asked. “You're a Mandalorian. Couldn't possibly need my help.”  
“I need an extra set of hands. You sa I was outnumbered earlier. I'd rather not have to shoot my way out not town.” Mando explained.  
“I can see that.” Cal said. “It'd be nice to get Lucien out of town. Though I'm a little concerned about who'll take over after he's gone. Still, it'd be nice to have him gone.”  
“So you'll help me?”  
“I didn't make you do all that digging for nothing.” Cal scoffed. “What do you need?”  
“A distraction. Backup if things go south.” Mando explained.  
“Yeah, I could do that.”  
…  
Just after sunset, Cal strode casually up to the front door of what he knew was Lucien's hideout. Everyone in town knew where it was, nobody ever went there unless they were invited. Unless that person was a perhaps less that smart cargo worker who had decided to help a Mandalorian for some reason.  
A voice he hadn't heard for twenty years echoed through his head.  
“I know, I know.” he said softly before knocking on the door. “I just hope I don't have to move again because of this.”  
“What do you want, boy?" A familiar voice snarled as soon as the door cracked open. Oh. It was one of the guys he'd gotten off of Mando earlier. That was unfortunate.  
“I came to make amends to your group and apologize for interfering.” Cal said, know it was about the only thing he could say in the situation if he wanted to live past the next two minutes.  
“Really?” The man sneered, opening the door to reveal a black eye and a face covered in purple bruises.  
“Wow. Um, did the Mandalorian do that to you?” Cal asked, cringing.  
“No, YOU did, boy. And it'll take a lot more than an apology to make up for it, too!” the man growled.  
“Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't realize what was happening, okay?” Cal shot back, hoping if he could keep the guy talking, he could draw the attention of the others, and give Mando enough time to get in the back. “I just saw some people attacking another person, and I reacted. I didn't realize it was you guys until it was too late!” he shouted, directing his voice towards the inside of the house.  
“Oh, yeah? You think we'd believe that after everything you've done here?” the man asked.  
Cal's stomach sank. Oh, shit. It might be time to move on.  
“What- What do you mean?” he stammered. “I'm just a guy trying to survive here.”  
“I think we all know that's not true.” A smooth, accented voice said from behind the angry man. Cal swallowed hard as Lucien himself approached. “You know I have friends in the right places. As it turns out, there is no record of a Calian Dristus in the entire galaxy. Care to explain?”  
“Sorry I'm not important enough to be listed in your friends' directory.” Cal replied, keeping his face blank. “But, as you know, there are a lot of uncharted settlements out there. I wouldn't be surprised if half the people in town don't show up on that fancy registry.” He wondered if he had time to grab the pile of credits he'd managed to save before leaving. Or would that be too much of a risk?  
“Actually, they do. Everyone does. Except you. It begs the question: What do you have to hide? Apparently some defense skills, you're well educated, and you don't have the fear the others have when I approach you.” Lucien demonstrated by stepping forward, practically outside to invade Cal's personal space. “You aren't an escaped slave, otherwise you would have a brand you'd be trying to hide. So what are you?” Lucien purred.  
Cal swallowed again, barely holding the emotions back. Blinked up at him.  
“I told you. I'm just a guy.” he said.  
“Hmmm.” Lucien breathed. “Lets put that to the test, shall we? Seize him.” he replied calmly.  
Cal stepped back, his thoughts racing. This wasn't the plan. He was just supposed to distract his minions while Mando got in the back. Being captured wasn't part of the deal. Hell, he wasn't even supposed to go inside! Mando had told him specifically not to go in, to avoid the worst of the fighting. Was he in there now, separated from Cal's idiotic self by the whole of Lucien's gang?  
Heart pounding, he did the only thing he could do that not only kept himself safe, but also followed Mando's instructions. He stepped backwards quickly, hoping that the Mandalorian was still outside the back of the house and only had to come back around the side to get to his target who was conveniently right there now, and he found himself surrounded in the yard. Shit.  
From somewhere inside the house, he heard a blaster fire. The idiot was still inside the house. Wonderful.  
Cal took advantage of Lucien's moment of confusion at the sound to punch him with a little more force than was necessary, then turning to his cronies. He smiled at the nearest one and kicked the blaster out of his hand, ducked under his swing to catch it gracefully, shot one, then the other, before they realized what had happened. Lucien struggled up and lunged at Cal, who pushed him off, spinning him right into Mando's hands as he dashed out of the house.  
“Run!” Mando shouted, cuffing Lucien and pulling him along as more men streamed out of the house.  
Cal didn't hesitate, sprinting out of the small yard without a second thought. He split off from Mando at the main road, running into Mari's house with a shouted apology before he burst into his room, grabbed what felt like a couple of shirts and his handful of credits before running back out. He had to leave. He didn't have a choice now that his identity had been compromised. He had to start over. He just hoped that he hadn't missed that evening's supply shipment going out. He didn't know where it was going, but it was somewhere.  
He got to the fields and skidded to a stop where the freighter was supposed to be.  
“Shit.” he breathed, looking around desperately. What the hell was he supposed to do now?  
“Hey!”  
Cal spun around at the shout to see the Mandalorian wave at him from the ramp of his Old Republic ship. The thing should probably have been in a scrapyard, but, hey, it was a ride. He ran up the ramp just as Mando closed it.  
“Thanks.” he huffed, leaning against the wall gratefully.  
“Didn't look like you could stay back there.” Mando said, walking to the cockpit.  
“No. They were- That was bad.” Cal followed him and settled in the copilot's seat as they ascended.  
“I've got a couple more jobs. After I'm done I can drop you off.” Mando explained, setting the coordinates for the next planet. They jumped into hyperspace and Cal blinked, wondering where his next home would be. What his next name would be.  
“Listen.” The gentle modulated voice interrupted his thoughts. “I know what it's like to be on the run. I've spent plenty of time hiding out myself. If you ever need help getting out of it or getting someone off your back, let me know.” Mando didn't know where this altruism was coming from, but it felt like the right thing to say. Besides, something about the guy seemed familiar.  
“Thank you.” Cal said because there wasn't anything else to say until he realized he had a question. “How much did you hear?”  
“Enough to know that you couldn't stay there. And your name.” Mando admitted.  
“So you can ask your friends to run me through their registers?” Cal laughed as Mando looked at him in surprise. “Don't worry, Mando. They won't find anything either.” He stood to explore the rest of the ship. “I'm gonna find somewhere to sleep.”  
…

Three days and two quarries later, Mando was starting to get used to Cal's presence. He had claimed the sleeping quarters next to him, which was annoying, but he found that having an extra set of hands was helpful when dealing with an especially aggressive quarry. Also, the kid could fly. He had found that out on his last job, as their passenger's friends tried to shoot them out of the sky. Cal had pulled some crazy maneuvers, turning the old cruiser tighter and faster that Mando thought possible, managing to get out of the atmosphere and into hyperspace before their pursuers knew what had happened. All this while Mando wrestled with the quarry and got him into the carbonite chamber.  
“Thanks, kid.” Mando said as he took his seat back.  
“What are you, like ten years older than me?” Cal asked as he moved over.  
Mando stared at him. How had he figured that out?  
“What? Am I wrong?”  
“No.” Mando admitted.  
“Then maybe stop calling me kid.” Cal suggested.  
“I'll take that into consideration.” Mando replied dryly.  
“You'll-” Cal cut himself off in indignation. “Whatever. You want some food?” he asked.  
“Five hours until Nevarro. Then we'll go wherever you want. Have you thought about where that is yet?” Mando asked.  
“Nope.” Cal stood up and stretched. “What's on Nevarro?”  
“Forget it. You wouldn't stay hidden there.” Mando warned.  
“Maybe I don't want to stay hidden anymore.” Cal suggested.  
“Right.”  
If he didn't know better, Cal would have sworn that was a laugh. “Ration pack or protein bar?” he asked.  
An annoyed huff answered him.  
“If you wanted a cook, you should have hired one.”  
Another grunt.  
“Protein bar it is.” Cal replied, sauntering down the hall to grab two bars. He made a brief appearance to toss one to the Mandalorian, then immediately turned to his quarters, flopping onto his bunk to enjoy what was probably going to be his last bit of relaxation for a long time.  
…

Nevarro was hot, dusty, and the main town was too small for Cal's tastes. Mando was right, there was no way he could hide there.  
“Hmpf.” Cal stood with his arms crossed at the top of the ship's ramp.  
“I told you.” Mando said as he walked past, with what sounded like a chuckle.  
“Yeah, yeah. At least there's a market. There are pants here, right?” Cal asked.  
“Here.” Mando stretched out a gloved hand with some credit chips. Cal caught them with a look of surprise.  
“It's your share for helping me with the gangster. And the flying.” Mando added when Cal took in a breath to argue.  
“You don't have to, you know.” Cal told him. “You're already taking me to a whole other planet.”  
“Which is also my fault, so take it.” Mando said, now a little annoyed with himself, before walking off to handle his own business. Cal shook his head and went the other way, towards the colorful fabric draped across the square.  
“Welcome back.” Cara greeted warmly Mando as he stepped into her office. “Everything go okay?”  
“Well enough.” Mando answered, handing his bounty pucks back to Greef Karga waving, away his offer of more. “I've got to take a little side trip before I can take any more jobs.”  
“Oh?” Greef asked with interest.  
“Yeah, some kid I picked up on Argon three. He helped get the bounty, but had to leave town because of it. He's on the run from something himself. Cara, could you run his name for me?”  
“Sure.”  
“Calian Dristus.”  
Cara tapped away at her console for a moment. “Nothing.” she said.  
“Not at all?” Greef asked.  
“No. How old is he?” Cara asked.  
“Early thirties.” Mando said.  
“Okay, so he was alive when the Empire took over. It isn't entirely unreasonable to think that he was orphaned and adopted or changed his name to hide at some point.” Cara pointed out.  
“Yes, but what is he hiding?” Greef asked.  
“I'm just going to drop him off where he asks to go.” Mando said. “Whatever he's hiding can stay with him.”  
“Why did you ask me to run him then?” Cara asked with a knowing smirk.  
He didn't have an answer for that.  
…

“Care for a spotchka?” A pretty lady standing at the entrance to an outdoor cantina asked.  
“No, thanks. Don't drink.” Cal smiled politely and kept walking. He soon found a clothes booth, picking out a new pair of dark blue trousers, another pair of brown, an extra undershirt, and a dark gray sweater. Space was cold, and with any luck, he'd soon be on a planet that had actual seasons, so he'd need another layer. He handed over the credits (his, not Mando's), and pointed himself back towards the ship. Soon, he felt a familiar presence approaching, and this time he acted properly startled at the sight of the beskar clad warrior. He yelped, jumping a bit off the ground. It was probably quite comical, actually, though Mando didn't seem to think so.  
“Are you ready?” he asked.  
“Yeah. I have clothes now.” Cal told him.  
“Good. Where to?”  
“Uhhh…”  
“You still don't know where you want to live?” Mando asked in disbelief.  
“Well, it's not like I've ever really had a choice before.” Cal argued in self defense. “I've always just ended up where I was by chance.”  
“Where has that been?” Mando asked.  
“Around.” Cal said vaguely. Mando sighed.  
“I spent a few years in to outer rim, some in the inner. More in the very inner, though that's no happening again.” he explained, still vague, but hopefully descriptive enough. “I'd prefer something in the middle rim, not desert but not freezing cold either, that doesn't have much of a New Republic presence. And no Empire remnants.”  
Mando did laugh then, a short chuff out of his modulator. “You're not asking for much, are you?” he said sarcastically.  
“Is it really that hard?” Cal asked.  
“Tell you what. Stick with me for a while, see a bit of the galaxy, and decide where to go from there.” Mando offered. He could use the help, and, if he was honest with himself, the company. “You'd have to help me with the bounties, but I'll pay you a fair share. And you may have to fly again.”  
“Ah, that's what got you.” Cal murmured to himself.  
“Where did you learn to fly like that?” Mando couldn't help asking.  
“Coru- socks!” Cal yelled suddenly. “I need more socks. Meet you back at the ship!” He practically ran away for the Mandalorian, who shook his head at the departing figure.  
…

Collecting the next three bounty pucks, he tried hard to ignore Cara's smug stare.  
“So where's he going?” she asked.  
“He's coming with me.” Mando said. “Don't say it.” he warned.  
“I'm not saying a word.” she laughed.  
Mando held back his sigh as he walked out.  
…  
“You ready?” he asked Cal, who stood at the top of the ship's ramp, his gear already stowed.  
“Let's do it.” Cal replied, pushing himself off the hull and following him to the front of the ship, the door closing behind them.


	2. Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cal helps Mando with a bounty and we get a little more info about his past. He's a little traumatized from his past. He clearly hasn't been on any Imperial friendly planets since then.  
> He has now.  
> Whoops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short update on my boys. The amount of time between what I'm referring to and the time this is set in probably doesn't match up perfectly, but it's fiction. It doesn't have to work perfectly! Seriously, if it bothers you, just squint. You'll be alright.

His quarters were cramped, the food was shit, and being a bounty hunter's assistant was about as glamorous as it sounded, but for the first time in years, Cal could sleep. Actually sleep, without needing to keep one ear open or his instincts on alert all night. He was sure it had something to do with his new partner. Something about traveling with a Mandalorian made him feel safe. Or was it that he knew he could trust this particular Mando? Either way, he hadn't felt this secure since... Well, he didn't like to think about that.  
“Focus.” Mando growled. “I'm not walking in there with someone who doesn't have their full attention on the job.”  
“Right. Sorry.” Cal shook his head, clearing it of thought. “So what are we doing today? The big brother/little brother spat? One in the front and the other waiting in the back alley? Waltzing in and cornering the quarry in what is hopefully a dark booth in the back?”  
Mando let out an amused huff. “Waltzing.” he said.  
“Oh, good. I could do with a real meal.”  
“You won't have time.”  
“You've never seen me eat.”  
“I have. You won't have time.”  
“Let me rephrase that. You haven't seen me eat when the food is good.”  
“Trust me. You won't.”  
“It has to be better that those protein bars.” Cal shot him a sly look out of the corner of his eye.  
“If you want better food, hire a chef.” Mando retorted.  
“Yeah, right. Like you would put up with that shit.” Cal said quietly.  
“What?”  
“This is it, right?” Cal ducked into a cantina, giving Mando no choice but to follow.  
Cal suppressed his dismay when he entered the smoke filled establishment. Mando was right, there would be no good food here.  
“I told you so.” Mando said, sidling past him.  
Cal gave his back a dirty look. “Whatever. There are some seats.” he said, moving to the side wall.  
“I'll get drinks.” Mando stepped towards the bar.  
“Great.” Cal said with fake enthusiasm. He still didn't like to drink anything but water, but understood the need to fit in.  
Mando came to the table with two glasses of a murky brown liquid.  
“Thanks!” Cal said brightly, just in case anyone was listening. He waited until he was sure no one was looking to tip half of Mando's drink into his, which probably wasn't necessary, but it secretly amused him. Someone somewhere would notice that the Mandalorian's drink was half empty and wonder how he had managed to drink without taking his helmet off.  
“This is terrible.” Cal said from behind his glass, his throat burning after taking a swig.  
“It was the bartender's recommendation.” Mando said apologetically. “I asked for something that someone who doesn't normally drink would like.”  
“Well,” Cal tried the drink again. “ Do you remember that specific coolant I wanted for the ship's temp regulators? This is what it tastes like.”  
“Sorry.”  
“You tried. Let's just find this guy and get back to the ship so I can have some water.”  
They scanned the crowd silently for a few minutes.  
“There.” Mando whispered.  
“By the gaming tables?” Cal asked quietly.  
“Left.”  
“Yeah.” Cal took another, hopefully his last, sip of the horrifying liquid. Their quarry abruptly turned and walked further into the bar.  
“Refresher.” Mando said.  
“Got it.” Cal hurried to get there before him.  
It took the quarry a minute to show up, meaning that Cal had to stand there and try not to look uncomfortable or obvious as he waited. Finally, the man stepped in and Cal slid up right beside him. With a casual laugh.  
“Corellian whiskey, am I right?” he chuffed.  
The man grunted in response.  
Cal looked down, trying not to think of all the ways this could go wrong, he tried again. “How are the games here? Do they cheat like at all the other places in town?”  
The man ignored him, turning away to the sink.  
Cal thought. It reminded him of a memory he suppressed impatiently. Why was that at the forefront of his mind at the moment?  
“You're the one with the Mandalorian.” the man said in a gravelly voice.  
“Yeah. He's gonna drop me off.” Cal replied, putting his own hands under running water.  
“That right? Don't get too comfortable 'round him.” the man warned.  
Wow, his lost little boy act must have been working overtime for the quarry to warm him.  
“Aw, he's not all bad. Good protection and all that.” Cal said casually. “He teaches me stuff, too.”  
“What about?” the man wondered.  
“Bounty hunting.” Cal casually leaned against the sink as the man froze in place. “Word has it you're worth quite a bit for smuggling toxic spice.”  
“I didn't know it was poison!” the man argued.  
“I don't care. We're just doing our job.” Cal told him.  
“We?” he swore the man's voice shook.  
Cal smiled innocently.  
“We.” Mando said, suddenly behind the man.  
It was exceptionally easy getting him into the ship after that. Once he was in carbonite, Cal headed for the refresher.  
“That place stunk.” he offered as an explanation that he knew Mando didn't buy. Cal didn't care. He knew he was being sloppy, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that either. He just wanted to be alone. Maybe then he could stem the flow of memories that threatened to overcome him.  
Mando got the ship into hyperspace and sat, waiting for Cal to make an appearance. An hour passed, then two. Still no Cal. He started to worry, wondering if this was the time he would finally learn about his companion's past. To be fair, neither of them had been especially forthcoming when they spoke about their lives. Beyond what was immediately important, Mando hadn't told him anything about his family or the kid, preferring to stick to the basics of Mandalorian culture. Cal, for his part, had admitted to living on three planets over the past twenty years or so, one of them being the inner rim city planet of Coruscant, where he had indeed learned to fly, though he wouldn't say who he had learned from. It was still an improvement, though. Mando thought he was chipping away at Cal's protective layers, trying to figure out his story and how best he could help. Because he did want to help him now. He was slowly but surely becoming more attached to his new partner and wanted him to be okay.  
How long had it been now? Three hours? Closer to four, he realized. He had better go and find him, he thought.  
…

It didn't work. Cal had figured that a hot shower and some quiet meditation would calm the madness that threatened him. But he didn't even make it to the meditation. The voices he didn't want to hear had followed him, echoing over the sound of the water hitting metal. It wasn't long until the images began to swim in his mind.  
Fire.  
He ducked his head under the stream of water, trying to literally drown it out.  
Screams.  
Why was he remembering this now? He had had a perfectly peaceful twenty five years, if he squinted hard enough.  
Calm voices talking, telling him who he was going to be.  
Nope. He shut the water off with a snap of his wrist. That wasn't happening. They were wrong, so wrong, and they had paid the ultimate price for that. And he was alone. They were all gone.  
Everyone. He sat on the cold metal floor.  
Three raps sounded on the refresher's door. “Cal?” Mando called, trying not to sound worried.  
Cal sniffed, pulling himself together. Enough to face Mando, anyway. “Yeah. I'll be right out.” he called.  
“You alright?” Mando asked as he stepped out a few minutes later.  
“Of course. I just had to get that smell off me.”  
Mando didn't believe him, and he knew it, but all he did was nod and say, “It's seventeen hours until we reach Nevarro. Wake me up in five.”  
“Okay.” Cal nodded back and turned to the cockpit.  
“Cal-” Mando began.  
“I'll get you if anything happens.” Cal assured with a wave over the shoulder. Mando watched him go for a minute longer than was necessary.  
…  
The shifter knob looked out of place. It didn't belong on this old ship- it was too shiny, too efficient looking. Kind of like Mando. Cal snorted to himself. He glanced over his shoulder, making sure the Mandalorian had indeed gone to bed, and reached over, twisting the knob gently. It came off easily, confirming that it wasn't part of the ship's original design. In his hand, it felt warm, familiar. Almost tingly. He looked over his shoulder again. Was Mando...  
No. That was impossible. He would have felt that already. What was the story with the knob, then?  
He balanced it on his palm. Concentrated. Breathed. Reached deep within himself, just like one of those voices, the most prominent in his memories, had taught him. He willed the knob to lift and hover about six inches off his hand. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would have been.  
Something in the ship rattled suddenly, and the knob dropped. Cal caught it easily, glancing down the hall before screwing it back on. The last thing he needed was to have to explain what he was doing. Although, if anyone were to understand, it would probably be Mando. If it mattered to him at all. Cal wasn't sure if they had gotten to the “share your horrifying past” part of their friendship. He sighed and looked at the passing stars. At least his little exercise had made him feel a bit better.  
…  
“That's interesting.” Cara muttered.  
“What is?” Karga asked from across the room.  
“I just got a notification that the Imps have rereleased a slew of old bounties.”  
“Any idea why?”  
“Looks like someone tripped their sensors. Popped up on facial recognition scanners.” She looked up in horror. “Some of these are just kids.”  
“They were when the bounties were first released. What about now?” Karga asked.  
“A couple have been updated.” She pressed a few buttons, and froze.  
“What?” Karga's brow furrowed in concern.  
“Its the guy that Mando's got with him. He's one of the bounties.” she said quietly.  
“What?” Karga ran to her side.  
“Look.” She turned the screen towards him. “That's him. And that's him as a kid. Those are the names he's used. He's wanted in connection with an attack on Coruscant.” She stared up at him. He stared back, shocked. “Someone needs to tell Mando.”  
“How do we know he doesn't already know and is keeping us in the dark?”  
“He still needs to know about the bounty. It's going to be just like when he first had the kid. They're going to chase him across the galaxy trying to get to this guy.” Cara argued.  
“He's due back in a few hours. We can tell him then.” Karga told her. “They'll be safe until then.”  
…  
Mando watched in open disgust as Cal tipped his head back, draining the entire cup of hot caf in one go.  
“Shut up.” Cal said, barely looking at him. Then, “How do you say that in Mando'a?”  
“Ni'duraa. You disgust me.” Mando said.  
“Thanks.” Cal rolled his eyes.  
“I thought you had a book.”  
“I do. But asking you is easier than looking it up in the book.” He drained another cup. “Will you teach me something else?”  
“Senaar.” Mando replied shortly.  
“What's that?”  
“Bird.”  
“Cause that's helpful.” Cal muttered.  
An alarm from the cockpit rang out before Mando had the chance to respond.  
“Time to land.” he said instead.  
“Great!” Cal strapped himself into the copilot's seat for the landing.  
…  
Cara was waiting at the end of their ramp.  
“Calian Dristus, this is Marshal Cara Dune of Nevarro.” Mando said as they walked down the ramp.  
“Hey, there.” Cara smiled politely, but with a tightness both men could feel.  
“Good morning.” Cal replied, sounding more cold than friendly.  
Mando looked between the two of them curiously.  
“Could I speak to Mando privately for a bit?” Cara asked.  
“No. Whatever-” Mando began.  
“Sure.” Cal cut him off. “Gotta go to the market anyway.” He glanced at the Mandalorian before leaving them alone.  
“He sounds like fun.” Cara remarked.  
“What is it?” Mando asked.  
“How much do you know about him?” she asked.  
“Enough.”  
“The Imps put out a bounty on him. Turns out he tripped some facial recognition software a few weeks ago. They're offering a high price for him, too.”  
“What?” Mando asked, his blood instantly boiling. “Do they have his name?”  
“I couldn't get his real name.” She shook her head. “But, Mando, there's more.”  
“What is it?”  
“They want him in connection with some attack on Coruscant twenty five years ago. The report says he escaped.”  
Mando turned slowly, staring in the direction that Cal had gone.  
“Did you know any of this?” Cara asked.  
“No.” Mando answered quietly.  
“What are you gonna do?”  
Mando ignored her, instead walking past her towards the market.  
…  
Cal took a moment to catch his breath in an alley. It was going to be fine, he reminded himself. He was always fine somehow. And this wasn't even that big of a deal. Cara had probably just run his name, found nothing, and wanted to warn her friend. That was all. That had to be it.  
Then why couldn't he breathe? Because he knew, deep down, that it was more than that. Things were changing, and if his old master had taught him anything, it was how to read the energy in the air around him. He wondered if it was time to disappear. Should he even go back to the ship that evening?  
The energy in the air rippled around him and he knew Mando had come looking for him. Sighing, he forced an air of calm before stepping out of the alley and slipping into a fruit vendor's stall, a perfectly innocent place for his beskar clad friend to find him.  
“Hey.” he said, not bothering to look up as Mando stopped silently behind him.  
“Fruit?” Mando asked.  
“I was hungry.” Cal shrugged, dropping a few pieces of yellow fruit into his bag and handing a credit to the vendor. “Are we good?” he asked with just a hint of nervousness.  
“Yeah. I need you to get the ship refueled while I get more pucks.” Mando said, completely ignoring any reason he had to be nervous.  
“Oh. That's fine.” Cal said, hiding his surprise.  
“Are you done here?”  
“Yeah. I'll go back to the ship right now.”  
“Good. I'll meet you there.”  
…  
Very late that night, Mando wait it the cockpit of his ship, thinking. Who was Cal really? What had happened to him on Coruscant? He had to know. He strode purposely down the hall, but stopped just short of knocking on Cal's door. Silence and a heavy energy had greeted him. He should let him sleep. It seemed like the poor guy hadn't had much time to rest in his life. At least probably not for the past twenty five years.  
He sighed and briefly leaned his head against the door. He just wanted the people he cared about to be safe. That included Cal now, he realized. He would do anything for that man, he thought. And just like that, his new ship felt more like home.  
The rest of the night passed in an easier silence, Mando's depression slowly lifting as he realized that he didn't have to be alone anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for getting this far! As always, I love you and wish you the best! Have a great weekend!


	3. That's Not My Name

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything was perfect until it wasn't. Then the past had to get itself involved. The truth finally comes out, but what happens then?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to go ahead and post this, since I know where the story's going after this.  
> In all fairness, I've been a little emo lately. Maybe listen to your favorite sad song while you're reading the last half.

“Kriffing hell.” Cal growled, dragging the Twi'lek onto the ship. “Are they always this- damn- heavy.” With a final heave, he pulled the unconscious form on the main deck. “This sucks.”

Mando merely watched to make sure the quarry had cleared the door before turning his seat back around to punch in the coordinates for their next destination. He waited until he heard the carbonite spray and Cal drop into the copilot's chair before turning slightly in acknowledgement.

“The next one's yours, right?” Cal asked, wiping dusty sweat off his brow.

“Yeah. The next one is mine.” Mando confirmed.

“Great. That means I can take a shower,” Cal began.

“I could use some help.” Mando added quickly.

“And get dirty all over again.” Cal finished, leaning his head back on the seat.

“How did it go?” Mando asked after a moment of silence.

Cal quirked an eyebrow at the ceiling. He knew Mando hadn't stayed on the ship while he had been out. He had felt his presence throughout the hunt, lurking just behind doors or ducked under windows. But did Mando know that he knew? He wasn't sure.

“Fine.” he said blandly. “He was easy enough to find and subdue. The only unfortunate part is that he weighs about four hundred pounds. Where are we going now?”

“Torunga III. Five hours. You'd better go take that shower.” Mando advised.  
“On it.” Cal raced to the refresher.

…

They had barely dropped out of hyperspace when shots started firing around them, triggering the ship's proximity alarms.

“What the hell are you doing?” Mando demanded furiously over the comm.

“I have a report that you're harboring a dangerous criminal on your ship.” A voice crackled back.

“I'm not harboring anyone!” Mando shouted, working frantically to veer away from the other ship's cannons. “I'm a guild registered bounty hunter. All I have are marks.”

The silence before the pilot answered seemed to stretch on forever. Then the shooting started again.

“What the hell?” Mando yelled again.

“Not them.” Came the reply.

“My partner is registered too. Are you really going to kill two guild members over a misunderstanding?”

“Uh, Mando.” Cal said, staring up out the window with a frozen look on his face. He didn't want to see that. He really really, didn't want to see it.

“What?” He followed Cal's gaze and felt his jaw drop. An Imperial cruiser floated above them.

“Start setting coordinates for Nevarro.” Mando instructed quietly. “Be ready to jump when I say.” He steered them away from the cruiser, which forced them closer to the other bounty hunter, who he flew straight at, shooting his own guns.

Cal's hands flew over the controls. Was he doing it too quickly? Yes. Was he using the Force to make sure he didn't screw it up? Absolutely. Could he afford to be caught by whatever was left of the Empire? No fucking way. He has stayed to hidden for too long to be caught now. Not to mention he'd be taking Mando down with him.

“Done.” he said.

“How did you do that so quickly?” Mando gasped, still getting them into a good position.

“Um, magic?” Cal said uncertainly.

Mando shot him a dirty look, more like a pointed head tilt that told him he'd gone too far, but he could only shrug. “It's done, isn't it?” he asked.

The ship bucked under what could only be a direct hit to their hull.  
“Kriff! Kriff kriff kriff!” Cal shouted, throwing his seatbelt off and running in the direction of the new alarms.

“Hey!” Mando yelled.

“I'll be fine!” Cal answered. He was still running when they were hit again.

“Hold on!” Mando called, turning tightly.

Cal hopped up on the kitchenette counter and popped open a ceiling panel, literally hanging from it by his fingers as the ship turned again. He climbed halfway in to check the damage, blowing a sigh of relief when he saw that nothing vital had been compromised.

“Mando!” he screamed, dropping done out of the hole a little too gracefully. “We're good! We can jump whenever!”

“Get back up here!” Came the response. 

Cal ran up the hall, his butt barely in his seat when Mando pushed the hyperdrive engage.

He blew out a sigh of relief and leaned his head back on the chair.

“How bad is it back there?” Mando asked.

“It's fine. I didn't see anything important damaged. Probably just some dents on the outside, a few scorched wires inside. I don't think he had enough power to actually harm us.”

“Good.” Mando sounded relieved as well.

“What the kriffing hell was that about?” Cal asked.

“It's what Cara told me about the other day.” Mando admitted, not seeing a reason to keep Cal in the dark any longer. “Someone set off some facial recognition software and the Empire remnants put out bounties. Some of them are pretty old. Old enough that the person they were looking for isn't a kid anymore.” he said pointedly. “They also have your name.”

“My name?” Cal jumped in surprise.

“Calian.”

“Oh. That one. I guess we can both agree that that name isn't real.”

“Yes, we can.” Mando replied softly. The last thing he wanted was to scare him off now.

“What else did Cara say?” Cal asked glumly.

“They want you in connection with an attack on Coruscant.” Mando added.

Cal leaned over, resting his forearms on his knees. “Fuck.” he said quietly.

Mando waited, wondering if he was going to have to ask. “Do you-” he began.

“No.” Cal cut him off. “Could- could you just drop me off somewhere now?” he asked.

“Right now?”

“Yeah.”

Mando considered it for a moment. “No.”

“Why not?” Cal asked, that challenging tone back in his voice.

“I won't.” Mando shook his head and leaned back, relaxing. “If you would tell me what we're working with, it would make things easier.”

“No.” Cal said quickly.

Mando tilted his head, studying him. “You're afraid.”

“Of course I'm afraid. I'm kriffing terrified.” Cal said, looking at the floor. Wasn't how this had all started? By someone who was afraid? And if Anakin had only been afraid and overreacted and started the Empire, what did that mean for him? It meant that he needed to break this cycle and start being honest with his friend, or all of this was going to end horribly.

“Not yet.” he said finally. “I'll tell you when we get to Nevarro. Provided that we're not being shot at there too.” He stopped himself there, before he could demand that Mando not hate him.

…

They weren't being shot at on Nevarro. Quite the opposite, in fact, though they were getting plenty of looks from the other bounty hunters they passed. Cal thanked the stars for Mando and his friends then, knowing it was their collective reputation that was keeping him from being snatched up at any moment.

“Okay, so what's the story?” Karga asked after Cal found himself sitting in the Marshal's office, having been lured by the promise of hot caf. Mando turned sharply, hitting him with an icy stare.

“What? We need to know.” Karga said in self defense.

“I need to know. You need to stay out of it.” Mando replied shortly.

“We're all friends here.” Karga reminded him. “We all just want what's best. So, come on. What do you not want to tell us?”

Cal carefully set the cup of caf down on the desk in front of him. He looked at Karga, who raised his eyebrows expectantly. “Uh, uh.” he shook his head. “I am not saying that here.”

“Come on, kid.” Karga sighed. “I've got half a dozen bounty hunters asking about you.”

“I don't want them to know either!” Cal's voice was laced with panic.

“Back off him.” Mando warned.

“How is he supposed to be a bounty hunter if he can't even own up to his past?” Karga asked.

“Going for the tough love approach?” Cara asked.

“Maybe it'll do him some good.” Karga shrugged.

“I told you to leave him alone.” Mando said.

“He's going to have to address it eventually. Why not here in a safe place?”

“How does he know this is a safe place? He's been in here three times. He barely knows you!” Mando shot back.

“What are you getting so worked up about? I'm just trying to make sure this doesn't end up like last time.” Karga said in a placating tone.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Mando asked.

“Just that you need to protect yourself better. We all know you care, but this isn't the same as the kid. He's an adult. He's made his own decisions. And those decisions have made him wanted by the Empire.”

“What if he was just a kid when he made those decisions?” Mando asked.

“Or those decisions were made for me by someone else?” Cal added.

Karga threw his hands up. “You still did what you did.”

“And on that note, I'm leaving.” Cal almost made it outside when Mando grabbed him by the arm in a firm hold.

“You're going where exactly?” he whispered.

“Away from your friends who think I'm a criminal. Not that they're not wanted by the Empire.

“Where?”

“I'll go get something to eat. Let you three talk it out.” Cal shrugged.

“And then you're going back to the ship?” Mando prompted.

“Sure.”

“Cal.” The Mandalorian's fingers tightened around his arm.

“I will go back to the ship.” Cal repeated tiredly.

“And the ship will stay on the ground?” Mando asked.

“Why are you being so weird? I'm not leaving the planet. Just this room.” Cal promised.

“Okay.” Against his better judgement, Mando let him go. He turned to Karga.

“Okay, Mando. Let's figure this out.”

…

He found Cal on top of the ship that evening, sitting cross-legged, watching the city lights come on and the stars appear.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Mando sat next to him, careful to give him space.

“No.” Cal said softly.

“Alright.” Mando's modulated voice sounded content with waiting.  
Cal sighed. Stared at the stars some more. Mando had almost decided that he wasn't going to talk anymore when he spoke.

“Cara couldn't find me because I don't exist. But you knew that.” he said.

“Yes. Do you know-”

“Why the Empire would want me?” Cal cut him off with a tortured look.

Mando nodded.

Cal breathed in again, taking in this last moment in which he had friends. Possibly family. One word came to him in Mando'a.  
“Jetii.”

Mando jerked in visible surprise. He truly hadn't suspected. First the kid and now this?

“Cal,” he began.  
“Taio.”

“What?”

“My real name. Taio Curazon. Have Cara look that up.”

“Taio.” Mando nodded, testing it out. “It suits you.”

“Thanks.”

“Din.”

“Huh?”

“Din Djarin. My name.”

“Ah.” Taio allowed himself a small smile. “I like it.”

Din tilted his head in acceptance.

“I guess I have to leave now, yeah?” Taio said, breaking the silence.

“Why would you?” Din asked.

“You know my real name now. You know what I am. I can't stay anywhere for long.”

“All the better reason for our job.”  
Din said practically.

“You- You still want me?” Taio asked in breathless disbelief. “Even after knowing that I could bring the whole of the Empire on us? You still want to keep me around?”

“Of course I do.” Din left no room for doubt in his tone. “You're my partner. My friend.” He finished quietly.

“But I'm a Jedi.” Taio pointed out.

“Yes.” Din nodded patiently.

“You're a Mandalorian.” Taio added.

“I am.” Din agreed.

“You can't say the irony is lost on you.” Taio said dryly.

“I don't care.” Din insisted. “Remember the kid I told you about?”  
“The one you brought in but went back for?”

“Yeah. What I didn't tell you is that he was a Jedi. Sort of. He had these powers. A Jedi came to get him, that's how we got separated.”

“That makes sense.” Taio whispered. “Did he like that shifter knob that looks like it doesn't belong?”

Behind the helmet, Din's mouth fell open. “How did you know that?”

Taio looked at him and raised his eyebrows.

“Of course.” Din nearly laughed.

Taio smiled briefly before the broken look came back over his face and he turned away. “I'd ask you how long until it stops hurting, but I know you'd ask the same thing if you thought that I knew. So here we are.”

“Here we are.” Din echoed.

“So where are we going tomorrow?” Taio asked in a fair impression of his normal voice.

“Don't know yet. I'll figure it out by morning.” Din replied, almost all business again.

“I'll do the supplies.” Taio offered. “And probably start rewiring inside that panel.”

“Sounds good.” Din stood, reaching out a hand to help him stand. “We might as well get some rest tonight.”

“Yeah. That sounds good.” Taio accepted his hand, letting Din lift him easily. It felt good, having someone there to share the load. He hoped that Mando felt the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this wasn't supposed to happen until later, but I just couldn't call him Cal anymore. He dislikes that name, and I'm starting to agree with him. So there we are.  
> Stay safe everyone, and know that you are loved. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, someone out there loves you and wants the best for you. Maybe it's me.


	4. Actually, I don't Really Like Sand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mando has a plan for keeping them safe, and it's Taio's first visit to Tattooine!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So someone was in a good mood. Basically, I wrote a little banter and they just ran with it. A little less angsty, Taio probably won't sleep for a while, canon type violence, one small explosion, some light droid abuse, and one head injury. Enjoy!

Taio wandered around the ship, putting things away at random, not ever stopping in an area for very long before he was on the move again, mumbling an old song to himself. He was on his way to deposit a caf mug in the kitchen area (he'd found it in the cockpit- whoops!) when he passed the ramp, paused, and backed up two steps to enter the code to open it before continuing on his way.

Din stopped, startled, when the ship seemed to magically open as he approached. He stared until Taio walked past the opening, still preoccupied with his song. He held back a sigh before walking up. He was living with a Jedi now, and he would deal with all that entailed. Right now, that seemed to be living in a partially cleaned up ship. That wasn't so bad, he reassured himself.

“You good to go?” he asked.

“Yep.” Taio said, cutting himself off mid note. “Where to, boss?”

Din ignored the new nickname. “Tattooine. We're going to stick to the Outer Rim planets for a while. Places that we're never very Imperial friendly. At least until Cara figures out a way to get your chain code erased from the Imperial's system.”

“Wait, is that possible?” Taio asked.

“We're gonna try.”

“Who's ‘we’? You and me?”

“And whoever else we can get to help us.”

“You're really serious about this, aren't you?” Taio asked, only now realizing the depth of Din's feelings for him.

“You shouldn't have to live in fear because of what you are.” Din explained. “I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe.” He thought about adding his other idea then but instinct told him to wait. He didn't want to scare Taio off, not for a half thought out idea that he wasn't even sure would work.

“You know the feeling's mutual, right?” Taio said. “You can't get hurt trying to protect me. I can't handle that.”

“I can't promise I'll never get hurt.” Din replied. “But,”

“No. You can't. I couldn't handle it.” Taio's voice broke. Din could see the fear in his eyes. He had lost too much in his life. So much that he had only been surviving since he had been a child. He hadn't let himself care about anyone until Din had landed in that field.

Why him? Din wondered. What made him special? Why did he seem to attract so many trusting people to his side? “Will you tell me about Jedi training?” He asked instead. “I'd like to know what that Jedi is teaching the kid.”

“I can do that.” Taio said. His voice was still deep with emotion, but he did feel better now that he had been heard. Hopefully Din had taken it to heart.  
He really didn't think he could lose anyone else he loved and maintain his sanity.

“To Tattooine, then.” Taio said, leaning back in his copilot's chair. “He's probably just levitating objects and learning to meditate right now. There's not much else you can learn until you're older and have more control over your abilities.”

“What else?”

“I remember a lot of cleaning.”

Din growled.

“But they was probably just my master.” Taio assured.

They continued like that for hours until Taio curleed up right where he was and fell asleep.

…

Blue light flashed in front of his closed eyelids. Din's chair shifted beside him. His throat was too dry- he should have brought his water bottle to the cockpit with him- and a small snore escaped. Hmm. He was sure that would have woken his companion. He must already be awake, then.

Slowly, Taio drifted back to consciousness. He opened his eyes to see that he was curled up in his chair, facing the pilot's chair. He had thought the Mandalorian was awake, but he wasn't showing any signs of it. He sat perfectly still, facing the blue swirls of hyperspace. Taio stared at the side of the helmet, trying to decide what to do when he heard a small, modulated sigh.

“I know you're awake.” Din said.

“I know you're awake too.” Taio replied. “What of it?”

“We still have some time before we drop out of hyperspace.” Din turned to looked at him. “You should rest.”

“I'm good.” Taio told him.

“You just fell asleep in your chair.” Din pointed out.

“For how long?” Taio asked.

“About half an hour.” Din shrugged.

“Mm.” Taio turned to unnessessarily fiddle with a switch. “That's long enough. I'll be okay.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Trust me, I've been through worse things than not sleeping enough.” Taio's eyes drifted down to the console, emotions warring on his face. Finally his neutral expression won, and he looked back up at the visor that studied him. “Id rather stay up here anyway.” he added, and Din suddenly knew what he meant. He didn't want to be alone with his memories.

“Alright.”

“Thanks, Mando.” Taio leaned back with a sigh of relief.

“Don't mention it.” Din said.

They sat in silence and watched the stars fly by. Taio considered closing his eyes, but almost immediately decided against it. He really didn't want to dream about anything anymore. It was bad enough that his real name was out there for the first time in years. He didn't need to be reminded of everything, of everyone he'd lost.

“When we get back to Nevarro, I'm going to change my name in the guild registry.” Taio said quietly.

The visor turned to regard him with curiosity. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I kind of want credit for my work. And I hate the name Calian.”

“You picked it.” Din pointed out.

“I know. I was under pressure at that moment, and that was the first thing resembling a name I could think of. Don't look at me like that.” he added.

“Why didn't you just change it again?” Din asked, and there was a definite tone of amusement in his voice.

“Because I couldn't think of anything else.”

“You couldn't think of anything better than Calian?”

“Ahh, I hate it so much.” Taio couldn't help saying. “No, I couldn't. And please don't give me that schtick about how Jedi are supposed to always be calm and have an answer for everything.”

“Are they?” Din asked.

“I never finished my training.” Taio continued, ignoring him. “So it's not like I learned how to handle everything the universe could throw at me.”

“Yes, but you did remarkably well for someone who was in your position. You did manage to hide yourself for quite a while.” Din reminded him.

“I'm good at being invisible, remember? I'm sure that had something to do with it.” Taio shrugged helplessly.

“Does that help with bounties too?” Din wondered.

“Hm.” Taio rocked from side to side in his seat, figuring the best way to explain it. “Sometimes, but not really. It they're Force sensitive, then yeah, I could use it against them. But most people aren't. When I make it to where no one can sense me, it's like I'm using the Force around myself to create a void. All they feel is a gray area similar to when they're sensing a non Force user, making me look like a regular person. Most everyone we hunt down keeps an eye over their shoulder, looking for anything suspicious, so that would leave me back at square one, hunting them like normal.” he paused, looking unsure of himself. “Does that make any sense?”

“Surprisingly.” Din answered.

“Okay, so what about you? What's you secret to catching people so quickly?” Taio asked curiously.

“Training.” Din answered honestly.

“That's it?” Taio's eyebrows went almost to his hairline in disbelief.

“Yes. You know, it wouldn't hurt to practice every so often.” Din suggested.  
“You hired me because I could fight.” Taio reminded him.

“I did.” Din admitted.

“Then why are we having this conversation?”

“Because everyone needs to hone their skills. It's what keeps you alive.”

“I thought that was dumb luck.” Taio said.

“For you, maybe. The rest of us have to rely on actual skills to survive.”

“Oh, actual skills. That's what I'm missing.” Taio said sarcastically.

“I could teach you some if you'd like.” Din offered, and it was hard to think he wasn't smiling beneath the beskar.

“Why am I here?” Taio asked with a laugh. “You're never nice to me.”

“I didn't know that was a requirement.”

“Of you hiring me? Yes. You should always be nice to your employees.”

“I'll make a note.” Din promised.

“Of course you will.”

Din snorted to himself.

“I heard that.” Taio said.

“Heard what?” Din asked innocently.

“Shut up, Mando. I made you laugh. Icy exterior my ass.” Taio muttered.

“Are you tired now?” Din asked a few minutes later.

“No. Why? Are you finally getting sick of me?” Taio laughed.

“I was just wondering, mir'sheb.” He was definitely laughing now.

“Fine. I'll go to bed.” Taio stood with a flourish, pretending to be annoyed. Truthfully, he knew what Din was doing, and he was grateful for his efforts to turn his mind away from his most depressing thoughts. “Wake me up in four?” he asked.

“Six. We're not halfway there yet.”

Taio sighed, but let him have it. “When you collapse in exhaustion, I'm gonna say I told you so.” he warned.

…

“Teach me something.” Taio said, dropping into his chair lightly, mug of caf in his hand.

“You need to put more weight behind your shoulder when you punch.” Din said automatically.

“Wow, okay.” Taio took a drink, looking at the sandy planet ahead of them. “I meant teach me something in Mando'a, but constructive criticism works too, I guess.”

“You asked.”

“Yeah. That's my fault.”

“Have you ever been here before?” Don asked, gesturing out the window at the sandy planet ahead.

“Only passing through.” Taio said, shaking his head.

“Try to stay quiet around the locals. They won't trust you if they think you can't keep your mouth shut. Don't let them know who you are or what your job is. They'll figure enough of that out on their own. Let me handle the Tuskens if we come across them. I can talk to them. Just try not to look too threatening.” Din told him in his calm instructor voice.

“Okay.” Taio nodded. “And we can work on the punching thing later?”

“If you want to.” Din replied with a smile to himself. “I also want you to take an extra blaster and a knife. It isn't anything against your skills, I would just feel safer if you have a backup.” He added over Taio's coming protest.

“That's not what I was going to say ” Taio told him.

“What is it?” Din asked as he positioned the ship for landing.

“This is probably not the right time to tell you, but I always have a backup.”

“Why wouldn't you tell me that?” Din tilted his helmet in obvious confusion.

“It's a Jedi weapon. I didn't think you'd appreciate it very much.”

“You mean a laser sword?” Din asked.

Taio's brows furrowed. “It's called a lightsaber, and how do you know about them?” he demanded.

“I have met Jedi before you.” Din said, getting up to lower the ramp.

“Who-”

“Another thing. I'll handle Peli.” Din cut him off to add.

“What's a-” Taio started to asked, cutting himself off when a shrill voice greeted them from outside.

“That'll cost ya. Where did you get this thing, a scrap heap?” A short woman with frizzy brown hair was shouting at them as she circled their ship. She stopped when she saw Din walk down the ramp. “Mando! I almost didn't recognize you! You got a new ship? Where's the child? Who's this?” she asked in rapid succession.

Taio raised an eyebrow, impressed.

“The child is with his own people.” Din told her.

“Oh, that's too bad. I would've liked to say goodbye to the little guy.” the woman replied.

“The Razor Crest was destroyed. My friend helped me find this ship.”

“Is it too big for one person?” she asked, glancing at Taio's figure in the shadows.

Din gave her a non-committal shrug. “This is my brother, Taio.”

Taio walked down to shake her hand.

“This is Peli.” Din said.

“Not much to look at, are ya?” Peli said, giving his hand a quick, vigorous shake. “Why aren't you dressed up all fancy like he is?” she asked.

“I haven't earned my armor yet.” Taio replied smoothly.

“Oh, yeah? Gonna try to do that here?” she asked.

“Eh.” Taio shrugged. “Just trying to do my job.” he said.

“Yeah, me too. So what do you gentlemen want? A tune up?”

Din tossed her a bag of credits. “Do what you can. We'll take care of the rest on our own.”

“He means me.” Taio said.

“Knives.” Din reminded him.

“I'm going.” Taio walked back up to visit the armory.

“The speeder's still out back if you need it.” He heard Peli say.

That was useful, he thought, sliding a slim blade into the side of his boot. Din had the tracking fob, so he had no idea how useful.

“Hey! HEY! Cut it out!” he yelled as something small and metal grabbed his leg.

“Let me guess. He doesn't like droids either?” Peli asked. Din was about to reply when Taio reappeared, carrying the offending droid with one hand.

“I don't like droids that latch on to me.” he said and dropped it unceremoniously off the side of the ramp.

“He likes you!” Peli shot back. “He can't help it.”

“We'll see if he likes me after I reprogram him.” Taio threatened.

“Don't you touch my droids!” Peli yelled.

“Keep them off me.” Taio paused just long enough to say before disappearing through the shop.

“He's got issues, huh?” Peli asked, shaking her head.

“Go easy on him. He's had a hard life. We'll be back in a couple of days.” Din replied.

“Sure thing, Mando.”

Din followed Taio's path outside. He tossed him the fob.

“Where do you think?” he asked.

“Really far that way.” Taio threw it back to him. “Not moving, though.”

“Good. Hop on.” Din mounted to speeder.  
“Yes, sir.” Taio followed, grabbing onto a piece of armor as they spend away.

In an hour, they were in the middle of nowhere, skirting the edge of a cliff. Din slowed to a stop as the fob beeped more insistently. Taio immediately got down, ducking behind the speeder bike, blaster in his hand. Din crouched beside him.

“He's in the canyon. I'm going to move up here. Go down and flush him out, but make sure he comes towards me.”

It sounded simple enough. Never mind that the walls of the canyon were a lot steeper than they looked, making silent movement nearly impossible. Taio made it to a little ridge when a blaster bolt hit the rock directly in front of his face. On instinct, he threw himself off the ridge, sliding down another twenty feet before bouncing off a boulder. Another shot streamed in his direction. He dug his feet in the loose ground, using everything he had to stop his forward momentum and managed to get up on one knee, blaster out to fire his own shots.  
“Ugh, go up.” he said quietly, shooting below where the shots had come from. Finally, a dark figure moved, shooting at him before it took cover again. The shot missed wildly.

“Din, this isn't working.” Taio said into his comm link. “He moved, but only by a few feet.”

“Hold on. I'll be down there soon.” Din's reassuring voice calmed him.

“Okay, but what's the new- oh, fuck.”

“Taio?” Din's voice sounded like it was far away.

“Um, so the idiot shot up the rocks above me.”

The sound of the canyon wall breaking apart made Din's heart skip a beat.“Take cover somewhere!” he ordered.

“Kriff, kriff, kriffkriffkriffkriff!” Taio scrambled, kicking, sliding, his hands trying to find purchase on the suddenly slippery ground. If he could just make it sideways enough, he could get away from the worst of it.

“Please, please, I don't want to die. Ow!” he yelped as a rock skipped into his head. “Mother- hmmmpf.” He was screwed now, dirt and rocks and raining down on him, covering him as he continued his slide down the canyon.

Din ducked behind a boulder to avoid being shot, only to see his quarry scrambling up the walls heading for the speeder. No! He pulled himself up lightning fast. He was not possibly killing Taio and getting away.

Just over the edge, a shot rang off his armor, nearly knocking him back down. He grunted and clawed his way back up. He shot the quarry's leg, forcing him to fall, and ran up to him to kick the blaster away. It was then that he saw the man was holding a charge that was about to go off.

“I'm not going alive.” The man whispered harshly.

Din barely had time to turn before it went off.

…

The sound of shifting rocks veritably echoed through his throbbing head. Stiffly, Taio stretched his neck, trying to judge how bad the damage was.

“Easy. You had a pretty bad fall.” an almost musically accented voice said from somewhere.

“Ow.” Taio said.

The voice chuckled, reminding him of something. With effort, he managed to crack his eyes open to see the too-bright sky and a shadow that moved to reveal a figure looking over him. It was Mandalorian armor, same T shaped visor and chest plate he was used to seeing daily. He struggled to identify all the pieces- vambrace, pauldron, everything was the same except…

“Wrong color.” he managed, the green blurring in his vision.

“What do you mean? Do you know a Mandalorian?” the figure asked.

They heard a shout from somewhere above, and the green helmet turned. Taio closed his eyes again, unable to make sense of anything.

“Looks like you were right.” the voice said.

“Great.” What was he talking about.

“Hey. You okay?”

Taio felt a hand on his shoulder. He tried to look again, this time only seeing a yellow blur.

“I'm fine. Just need a minute.” he whispered, grimacing with a painful throb and closing his eyes, welcoming the blackness that took over him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mando'a translation:  
> Mir'sheb- smartass. Because he is.  
> Din doesn't think if himself as Taio's mentor or boss. It is more of a family feel, but it might take a while for either of them to accept it, even though they pretend to be related.  
> The song? I Swear This Time I Mean It by Mayday Parade. Can't say I haven't gotten it stuck in my head for an entire workday.  
> Have a wonderful weekend! Loves!!!


	5. Head Injuries Are Amazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taio and Din are rescued by some old friends of Din's and Din learns some new information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish this were longer but the next chapter is just about perfect and it is looking, so that should make up for it.  
> Happy reading and have a good weekend!

Din awoke to someone shouting. Feet stepped closer to him on the sand.  
“Hey. You okay, Mando?”

He grunted in response as Fennec Shand stood over him. She reached to help him up.

“What happened?”

“Quarry nearly killed my partner before he offed himself.” Din explained.

“Your partner? You mean the guy down there?” she asked,pointing down into the canyon.

“Yes. Is he alright?” Without waiting for an answer, he walked to where she was looking.

Boba Fett knelt over a limp figure in the dust and reached out to gently examine his head.

“Mandos's partner.” Fennec called.

“He'll be alright. We'll get some bacta on his head.” Fett called back after his glove came back bloody.

“Come on. We have a place that's not far.” Fennec said.

…

“I have to admit, when I heard there was a Mandalorian in the desert, I didn't expect it to be you. And with a partner now.”

“I got him into trouble going after a local on his planet. It wasn't safe for him there anymore, so I got him off world. He asked to learn how to be a bounty hunter, so he just stayed.” Din explained.

“Anyway, I'm glad you're here.” Fett sat on the stool next to him. “I've done some digging into your kid and how the Empire knew about him. One of my New Republic contacts says the old Jedi temple still sits abandoned. No one's touched it for twenty-five years. They say it's cursed because of all the bloodshed of the night the Jedi were killed. It's possible that the Jedis' information is still accessible from the computers.”

“You think they went to the old Jedi temple to gather information?” Din asked.

“It's possible. Didn't they just put out a bunch of new bounties?” Fett replied.

“Yeah.” Din looked at Taio's sleeping form. “I was under the impression that it was because someone was tipped off by a facial recognition device.”

“Yes, but where did they initially get those names?” Fett wondered. He watched as Din looked at his companion again. “Does he have something to do with this?” he asked.

“I can't tell you that until he wakes up.” Din told him. It wasn't his secret to tell, and though he didn't see the problem with telling Fett and Fennec what he was, that was ultimately Taio's decision.

…

Soft talking was the first thing he heard. Three different voices, all seemingly aware of their proximity to his battered self, talking quietly so as not to disturb him. They were all friendly, at least. Sharing stories of battles past. The woman had a dry sense of humor he admired, and he could tell when she smiled by listening to her voice. The other two were rough, male, and modulated. One was the accented voice that reminded him of the color green somehow and the other was like pure comfort to his ears.

Din!

He flailed in bed, trying and failing to sit up.

“Don't move!” the green voice said, accompanied by the sound of shuffling feet.

“You put enough bacta on him to grow another brain.” the woman's voice said, not moving any closer. Taio guessed that meant she wasn't as concerned about him as the other two.

“How do you feel?” Din asked gently, at his side.

Taio shifted in the cot, groaning as his back protested. “If he's not dead, I'm gonna kill him.” He panted with the effort of moving.

“He's dead. But we're gonna have to find another job. This one blew himself up.” Din explained.

Taio groaned again in frustration. “Really? Mother kriffing piece of- Wait, what happened to you?”

“I'm fine. The quarry had a charge that went off as I approched him. I got knocked out for a bit, but Fennec found me.” Mando gestures to the woman with shiny dark hair who was cleaning a sniper rifle across the room.

She looked up and nodded with a small smirk. Taio smiled back at the twinkle in her eye. “Nice to meet you.” he said. He looked at the guy in green armor.

“Boba Fett.” the man said.

“So you're not a Mandalorian?” Taio asked.

“No. My father was a foundling. This was his armor.”

“Oh.” He looked to Mando. “Is that a thing?”

“It can be.” Mando said.

“Okay.” He relaxed against the pillows.

Everyone settled into a comfortable silence. Fennec cleaned her gun. Din shifted next to him. Boba tapped on a datapad.

“He blew himself up?” Taio asked loudly.

“I'm going to check your head again.” Boba announced, dropping the datapad and coming to slide his hand between Taio and the pillow.

“Like, he seriously had to make sure we didn't get paid?” Taio couldn't help but add.

“That's bounty hunting.” Boba chuckled. “You still hurt?” he asked.

“Just a headache.” Taio admitted.

“Here.” Boba handed him a white pill.

“Thanks.” Taio swallowed it dry and growled, displeased.

“I know. But we'll find something else.” Din soothed.

“Perhaps we could go to a place that hates the Empire that isn't a dry, sandy deathtrap.” Taio suggested.

“I take it you don't like Tattooine?” Fennec grinned.

“I am not impressed.” Taoi replied.

“Besides the obvious, why are you avoiding the Empire?” Boba asked.

Din looked at Taio, a silent question.

“Why not.” He shrugged.

“He's a Jedi.” Din told them.

“Sort of.” he amended, give Din an annoyed look.

“What does that mean, ‘sort of?’” Boba asked.

“I was training on Coruscant until the temple was attacked. and I got out, but I never finished. I've basically just been surviving since then.” Taio explained tiredly.

“So they want you to perform their experiments on?” Boba asked.

“Is that what they're doing now?” Taio asked roughly, looking to Din with fresh dread.

“Yes. They wanted the kid's blood.” he explained.

“Kriffing hell, I can't get caught by them.” 

“I know.”

“None of us can. You'll be safe here.” Fennec looked right Taio, her matter of fact tone reassuring.

Taio nodded and remembered to breathe. Din squeezed his wrist. “You're okay, though, right?” he asked, looking over the non-shiny parts of Din for injuries.

“I'm fine if you're fine.” Din said.

“I am.” He was, though he felt like a very young Padawan again, sitting on a cot surrounded by the masters. Different masters, though. He almost laughed. “So when are we leaving?” he asked.

“You just got here!” Boba tried his best to sound offended.

“We'll stay the night.” Din decided. “Head out in the morning.”

“Right.” They could both hear a grin in Boba's voice. “You want a drink, T?”  
“Did he just-” Taio began.

“He doesn't drink.” Din replied at the same time.

“What is that, like a Jedi thing?” Fennec asked.

“Something like that.” Taio said.

“Smart.” she replied.

“Here.” Boba tossed a silver bottle across the room.  
Taio caught it easily, opening it with a suspicious look. He sniffed. “Water.” he said in relief. “Thank you.”

“Any time. So, you got any good stories about living in the Jedi temple?” Boba sat in a chair near the cot.

“Ah…” Taio looked at Din, who huffed.

“What?” Boba looked between them, clearly confused. “What am I missing? You were there, weren't you?”

“Yeah, but I don't really... I mean, I haven't…” Taio stammered.

Din suddenly stood and walked two steps away.

“You haven't told him what it was like then, have you?” Boba asked quietly.

“Not really.” Taio stared at the back of Din's cloak. He thought about adding something, but it wasn't right to point out that Din hadn't asked about anything beyond training. He didn't want to push too hard, and Taio appreciated that. But he still hadn't told him anything. His best friend. His mentor.

Fennec finished cleaning her rifle with a loud bang, reminding them of where they were. Taio blinked. His head still hurt.

“It's late.” Din said, still facing the other way. “We should get some rest.”

Boba sighed before standing. “Drink that.” he said to Taio. “It'll help.” He and Fennec left them alone in the quiet chamber.

“I'm sorry.” Taio said.

Din half turned to look at him.

“It's not good stuff, the things I remember.”

“You don't remember anything positive?” Din sat on his own cot across from him.

“Oh, that. Thinking about that makes it worse. I miss them too much.” Taio whispered the last part, looking very far away. But if anyone would understand, it would be the man in front of him. He took a deep breath. “My master, the one who trained me, was more like family than my actual family. He was kind and understanding, and didn't try to beat the shit out of me for not being smart enough or not paying attention.”

Din huffed involuntarily.

“I know. Corellia was fun.” Taio said. “But I did get out early enough to learn what real caring felt like. What it was like to be supported and have friends.” he paused, nodding vaguely. “Until I didn't.”

“You're here now.” Din reminded him softly.

“Somehow.”

Din reached over to clasp his hand. Taio squeezed back gratefully.

…

“What happened?” Peli demanded as soon as they entered the hangar.

“Dude blew himself up.” Taio told her. “No payday.”

“What?” she asked.

“Concussion.” Din explained.

“Oh. Well, I updated the hyperdrive, fixed a few bugs in the electrical system. I'd recommend you stay for a week to let us rewire the flight controls, but I know ya gotta move, so you'll just have to do it when you can.” She nodded to Taio, who graced her with a smile. “Anyway, I also replaced the hot water element in the fresher. Since you have two people to take care of now, I figured you'd want it nicer.”

“Thank you.” Din said.

“Sure thing. Don't be strangers, now.” She told them.

“Nah. This place is way too interesting.” Taio said with just a touch of sarcasm before disappearing into the ship.


	6. Taio Says the Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taio goes on his first solo hunt while Din hunts for information.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory warnings for liberal use of the f word, light angst, and slightly overprotective Mando.

“Name?”

“Taio Curazon.”

“Age?”

“Mid-thirtyish? Check the chain code the Imperials have. That's probably right.”

“Planet of origin?”

“Corellia.”

Karga looked up in mild surprise.

“I know. How did a kid from the slums of Corellia make it all the way to Coruscant? The Jedi came and got me.” Taio replied with a confident smile.

“You know the risk you're running, making yourself known, right?” Karga asked.

Taio looked back at Din, who was sitting on Cara's desk. “Fuck it. I want credit for my work. If the Empire has a problem with that, we'll deal with them.” He could feel Din smiling.

“Can I have my puck now?” he asked politely.

Karga laughed and tossed it towards him. “Got an easy one for you today. Rich kid bail jumper.”

“Oh, good. Someone light.” he mumbled. Karga chuckled as he took a look at their last known coordinates. Coruscant. Fuck.  
“Nope.” He slid the puck back across Karga's desk.

“What's the problem?” Karga asked, throwing his hands up in frustration. 

“I'm not going back there. Or to Corellia. Send me anywhere else. Whatever other shit planet someone can hide out on. Just not there.”

“Listen, I don't know what Mando's been teaching you, but rookie bounty hunters don't get to be picky. You'll take what you get.”

“And like it?” Taio challenged. “How about this, then? My ride isn't going to any core worlds for a while.”

Karga looked past him at Din. “I suppose this is your idea?”

“It's not safe for him.”

“Mando.” Karga said pleadingly.

Din tilted his head meaningfully.

“Alright. But you two owe me.” He pulled out two more pucks. “Ive got a smuggler and an attempted murderer.”

“Perfect.” Taio scooped them up, practically dancing out the door.

…

“Alright.” Din lowered the ship into a clearing. “You've got your pack?” He held up a gloved hand to count off.  
“Yes.”

“Blaster?”

“Two.”

“Vibroblade?”

“Right here.” Taio kicked out his right foot.

“Comm link?”

“It won't work when you're off planet.”

“Do you have it?” Din pressed.

“Yes, Mando.” Taio sighed dramatically.

“Laser sword?”

“Please stop calling it that.”

“Medical supplies?”

“Since when you you carry a first aid kit? I'll be fine, Din!” Taio said loudly, bouncing in his seat.

“Be back here in no longer than three days.” Din ordered.  
“Wait, what if I'm early?”

“Pretend that you're camping.”

“Okay.”

Din started to tell him to leave, but reconsidered. “Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?” he asked apprehensively.

“Will the other bounty hunters have their Mandalorian babysitter with them?” Taio asked.

“I'll see you in three days.” Din replied dryly.

“Great! Bye!” Taio ran out into the thick forest, waving as Din took off, leaving him alone for the first time in months.

He took a deep breath, enjoying the mossy smell. “I can do this.” he said. He headed towards the village he'd seen from the sky.

…

If Din was nervous for Taio's first solo hunt, he didn't want to show it. He wanted to show that he had confidence in his trainee. He had learned from the best. There was no doubt he would find the quarry and get back to their meeting spot before the three days were up. He was actually a little nervous about his plans. He was going to nab that smuggler quickly and take a side trip to Coruscant.

Fett had told him that the old Jedi temple still stood abandoned, many people saying it was cursed since the attack years ago. It was also supposedly intact, though he wasn't sure how much he could believe that. What intrigued him was that, if it were still there and untouched, the computer systems would also still exist. How much information on past students and Jedi masters lurked within those walls? How many chain codes? And wouldn't it have been a perfect place for someone, say Moff Gideon, to gather all the information he desired about said students? Then perhaps use such information to determine whether or not certain students had escaped? And release the chain codes, now attached to an exceptionally large bounty apiece?

He knew it was probably speculation. In fact, he hoped it was. But he had to see for himself. He had to know if it was true.  
If it was, then he could at least delete the information to prevent it from being used again.

…

Taio trotted through the forest happily, bag slung over his shoulder, looking like any other traveler. Hell, if it weren't for his plethora of self defense devices, he would feel like any other visitor. It was wonderful to walk through the ancient trees draped with moss, birds singing, the occasional squirrel-type creature jumping from branch to branch.

It seemed like the three hours to the village flew by, he enjoyed his walk so much. He stopped at a tiny outdoor cafe near the edge of town, sitting down with a warm beverage. He sighed loudly and relaxed back, not giving any outward sign that he was well aware of everything in his sight. The cafe owner, a stout woman who spoke basic with a thick outer rim accent, brought him some freshly baked bread and creamy cheese that melted into the soft texture.

He rolled his eyes as he ate it, an almost indecent noise escaping his throat. “Thank you!” he called after the blushing woman.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” A light, breathy voice said from his left. He turned slightly to see a very pretty twenty-something woman sitting at a table near him.

“I can't not.” he said exuberantly. “I love it here. The forest, the village, the food, everything is wonderful.” He grinned at her as she blushed a deep pink.

“We don't usually get such enthusiastic guests. Most people just come to study the environment.” she admitted. “What brings you?”

“Ah, but that's be the reason I'm so excited. I'm an ecologist. I came to study the plants and the animals, see how they work together with your wonderfully temperate climate to make what is one of the nicest forests I've had the pleasure of hiking in.” He lied easily, leaning on his natural ability to put others at ease.

“So you didn't come for the moon flower festival tonight?” the woman asked.

“What's that?” he asked.

“It's wonderful. Every year we celebrate the blooming of the moon flower, which happens each spring on the first full moon. The elders say that whoever you touch while you witness the blooming is who you'll spend the rest of your life with.”

Taio's eyebrows rose so high they would have been hidden by his hair had he not gotten that haircut on Nevarro a week ago. “Oh.” he managed to say. “That's very, uh, interesting.”

“It's in the village square.” she told him.

“Um. Okay.” he hoped he didn't look as red as he felt.

“Well, I hope to see you there.” she said, finally getting up and walking out of the patio area with a light swing of her hips.

“Uh huh.” he said after her, closing his mouth with a snap as he thought about Din. What would Mando do? It had become a mantra for him lately. If he wanted to be more like the Mandalorian, he had to act like the Mandalorian. The easiest way to do that was to ask himself what his friend would do, and follow that.

Of course, it was usually much easier. It wasn't every day he had a beautiful woman basically asking for his company on what was supposed to be a romantic occasion. His eyes trailed down the path she had taken.

He literally shook himself. He had a tracking fob that he needed to look at and a quarry to find. What would Mando do?

He would find the guy and drag him back to the ship in about three hours. The village wasn't that big. Anyone could find him in a matter of hours. There was almost no way it would take three days.

He surreptitiously looked down at the fob on his belt. It was blinking slowly, indicating that the quarry wasn't far off. Did Din have that little faith in him that he thought it would take him an obscene amount of time? For that matter, how long could it possibly take for him to find that smuggler?

There was only one answer: he wanted to do something without him. But why the sudden secrecy? What had happened to make him suddenly so mysterious?

The Empire had happened.

That was true, but it didn't quite seem to fit. Din had a plan, had shared it with him, and they had continued to work together without interruption. If Din was so worried about the Empire remnants hunting him down, he wouldn't have left him on this backwater planet alone for three days. It has to be something else. 

Tattooine had also happened.

Oh, fuck. His friends there had told him something that he didn't want Taio to know and now he was out there trying to take care of it on his own.

“Can I get you anything else?” the cafe owner asked in her kind voice.

Taio blinked up at her, forcing himself out of his thoughts thinking that he revealed too much of his actual self as he composed himself.

“No. Thank you.” he said softly before pushing himself off the table and disappearing into the woods. He would at least make his story believable as he tracked down his mark.

…

The sun rose over the endless cityscape that was Coruscant, reflecting a dull orange off his beskar. Din looked on as the growing light highlighted the pieces of a dilapidated, partially collapsed building that stood in front of him. Fett had been right, the Jedi temple was still there and appeared abandoned. It had an eerie feel to it, a darker, foreboding feeling that said it was a bad idea to enter. Too much sadness had occured there. Too much innocent blood had been spilled. A lingering sense of dread permeated the atmosphere.

Din stepped forward anyway, thinking of Grogu and Taio as he walked the halls they used to, his feet crunching through debris that littered the floors they remembered as clean. Gingerly, he climbed down crumbling stairs to the basement, where the records were probably kept. There was one small terminal in the far wall that still glowed faintly. Someone had taken great care to ensure its survival, even after these long years. He brushed the dust off the console, tapping in a few commands to see if the information he wanted was there. He sifted through an array of missed messages, automatic instructions to avoid the building he now stood in, daily briefings by Jedi masters, and progress reports before he found what he wanted. The trainee information. What was the word? Padawan. There they were- everyone's chain codes. Ripe for the picking.

He couldn't delete them fast enough. Was this really where the Imperials had gotten their knowledge of Grogu and Taio? In this place they had barely escaped?

The heavy feeling weighed on him. This was where their lives had changed. They had almost died there. Grogu was safe again at least, with another Jedi. Taio was off world now, living his best life, pretending to be something he wasn't to catch a suspected murderer. How strange that they had both started here to end up in such different places.

Almost of their own accord, his fingers flew over the console buttons again, typing in their names. He wanted to see them, see where they had come from. He needed to know their stories like he knew his own. In two small blocks, he saw their pictures. Two childish faces looking at him, Grogu curious, and Taio looking relieved, but also wondering if he could trust anyone. It reminded Din strongly of himself.

He couldn't find anything else on them, except a strange name underneath Taio's that he memorized to ask him about later. Finally with nothing better to do, he erased their pictures, along with everything else he found, and tore the console open to rip out the processor. Good luck fixing that, nobody makes that part anymore, he thought before walking out with purpose.

…

The small campfire looked cozy, but did nothing to ease the chill coursing through his veins. Where was Din and what was he doing? Something felt off and very, very wrong about the whole situation. Of course, he was inclined to worry, that was practically unavoidable, given his past. This was different, though. This was a feeling, and he hadn't had feelings in... years, really.

This could be something, he thought.

Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe he was just worrying because he had too much time to think. Yeah, that must be it. This was probably how Din trained all the new bounty hunters he knew.  
Except... When had Din mentioned training someone else? Had it ever happened until now?

Probably not.

No, he knew it hadn't. He could feel that.

Stupid Force, poking holes in his perfectly illogical statements to himself.

Okay, so what had Boba and Fennec said that had spooked Din?  
He leaned his head back and reached out with his feelings. That part of his mind felt stiff and weak after years of unused, but it still worked. He had been in the room when they were talking, he was sure of that. So it was just a matter of heating what they had said while he was unconscious.

He leaned back against a fallen tree, his eyes closed in concentration. There were words there. If he could only reach them.

…

Din didn't sleep that night. He stayed on Coruscant just to waste time, but he couldn't help himself from staring in the direction of the temple ruins. He wondered what it would feel like to go back to his home planet. Like this? Or would it be much worse?

It would be worse for them to be here, he decided. He didn't have to question why Taio didn't want to go back to Coruscant ever again. Just seeing the place, feeling what he must have felt on the night his life changed, was enough for Din to understand. He would volunteer for every job on this planet for the rest of their lives if he had to. Just so Taio didn't have to relive a second of that.

…

Taio awoke with a start.

“Shit!” he gasped. Night had fallen in earnest, and his fire was reduced to glowing coals.

He has fallen asleep.

His first truly difficult Force exercise in years, and he has fallen asleep like a toddler. Hopefully the stories of the dead never leaving those they cared about weren't true, because he didn't want his old Jedi master to see him now.

He closed d his eyes again, reaching out for that moment just before he woke up at Boba's safehouse. If he could get there, maybe he could work his way back…

He woke himself up with a loud snore.

“Fuck!” His voice echoed off the trees. He huffed in annoyance. He needed a new plan.

From the way he saw it, he had two choices. He could keep this up and figure it out in his own, or he could trust Din and ask him about it later. How bad could it be, really?

…

Din sent a message to Fett, describing everything he saw and exactly what he had done. He couldn't quite put into words how it had felt, being in that place of broken dreams that his foundlings had come from. His heart ached for them. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was sweep them up in his arms and tell them that he wouldn't let that happen to them again.

But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. Because they weren't his to protect. Grogu was safe with the Jedi. Taio was grown. Even if he was broken, it wasn't Din's job to fix him. He had no responsibility to either of them, really.

So why did it feel like he did?

…

Taio stepped up to the door and knocked. A middle-aged woman about his height answered with a smile.

“Well, hello!” she said brightly. “I was wondering when we'd get to meet out new scientist. We heard you've been about for the past couple of days. Did you come looking for my husband? He's quite the expert on our local plants.”

“Um, yes, exactly.” Taio tried not to stammer. “I heard he knew a lot about the local flora and I was wondering if he would be kind enough to talk with me about...” Plants. They were all plants. He couldn't think of a specific plant for the life of him. “The purple ivy.” he blurted.

Her eyebrows rose. “Oh, yes. Of course. Let me just get my husband for you.” she closed the door while she went back in the house.

Taio let his forehead fall into his right hand. This was NOT what Mando would do. He couldn't see Din stumbling his way through this awkward conversation. He would just grab the guy and go.  
If he ever got to leave this planet. Din was still out there with the ship, presumably close, but still.

The door opened again to reveal a large man who looked more like a baker than a killer. “Well.” he said, leaning comfortably against the door jamb. “If you're an ecologist, them I've missed more than I thought.”

Taio swallowed.

“You mind telling me what is it you're really doing here?” the man asked kindly.

Oh, this was not fair. Not fair at all.

“I should've gone to Coruscant.” he said aloud.

“What?”

“Sorry, um…” Don't think. No emotions. Mandalorians don't have feelings. Right.

“Did you get into a fight in a casino on Canto Bight a year ago? Kill the guy you were fighting?” Taio asked.

“I knew you'd come for me eventually. Bounty hunter?” the man's asked.

“Barely.” Taio admitted.

“What's you name?”

“Calian.”

“Good name.”

“I like to think so.” It was easier to distance himself now, the more he hid the truth from this man.

“How about your parents? Did they raise you good? Teach you right from wrong, that sort of thing?” he asked.

Okay, then. Taio schooled his features, shoving the past into the back recesses of his mind. Something clicked into place, and he felt his emotions go cold as the consummate survivor took over.  
“Look, I'm sorry, but I've gotta take you in. I have to be past the other side of the village by sundown otherwise my ride will think I'm late.” Taio said as politely as he could.

“It was a mistake, you know. I didn't mean to kill him. All I wanted was to get him off me. You understand, don't you?” the man said in a pleading tone.

“Not really, no. You had a choice. You made it. Now I have a job to do.” Taio shrugged. “I can take you in warm, or I can take you in cold. You pick.”

“Can I at least say goodbye to my wife?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Calla!” he shouted.

Taio whipped out his blaster and pointed it at his chest, stepping in to cuff him. “I said no. Don't make me shoot you.” He tugged the cuffs and pulled him down the path quickly.

“I liked you much better when you were being timid and polite.” the man commented.

“Well, then you shouldn't have mentioned my parents.” Taio told him, not slowing down.

…

Din landed early, half expecting Taio to be waiting impatiently for him. Instead he got a few minutes to himself as he stood on the ramp, looking out at the forest.

Pretty soon, he heard the telltale sounds of a handcuffed person stumbling through the brush. Taio appeared with a jolly looking man behind him, practically dragging him by the wrists. Din's helmet tilted and he stepped to the side, giving his partner room to finish the job.

“You're not going to lock me up with the Mandalorian, are you?” the man squeaked.

“Whoever heard of locking up a Mandalorian?” Taio replied derisively. “In.” he shoved the man forward.

“It's just that I hate small spaces.” the man whined.

“Well, this is worse.” Taio muttered and pushed him into the carbon chamber. He practically slammed his hand on the button and stepped back to let the cooling jets do their thing.

“Good hunt?” Din asked.

“He was nice until I said I was taking him in. Then he tried to get manipulative.” Taio wiped the sweat off his brow. “You get the other guy?”

“Yes.” Din pointed. “Had to chase his ship into the inner rim, but I got him on Hosnian Prime.”

“Is that why you gave me three days?” Taio asked bluntly. “Cause between here, the size of the village and the tracking fob, there's no way that would have taken me that long if I had done it right away.”

Oh, right. Taio was smarter than he let on. Din froze. He was glad his face was hidden.

“It's okay.” Taio said. “I was just worried.”

“You were worried?” Din grabbed onto the first topic he could that wasn't those three days.

“Yeah. I thought you were off doing something else you didn't want me to know about.” Taio said, looking right into his helmet. “But that's silly, right?” he added.

“Yeah.” Din huffed. “I just had to chase down the smuggler. Nothing else happened.”

Taio's eyes narrowed. Could he tell Din was lying? Was that a Jedi thing?

It was, but Taio decided to believe his friend rather than dig into his thoughts.

“Okay.” he said, letting it go. “Nevarro?”

“Nevarro.” Din sighed in tired relief as he followed his partner to the cockpit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading!


	7. Heavy Metal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The New Republic officially knows about Taio now, which complicates his relationship with Greef Karga. Din decides that the best therapy for an angsty walk is a shot of truth and a workout in the sand with in of the galaxy's fiercest warriors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So warning for some angsty shit in the beginning, light violence of a training sort at the end.  
> Taio's still trying to figure this all out, and it's hard when he feels like he's stuck between who he was and who he's trying to be. Basically, being a functional grown up is hard.  
> At least he's got Mando to catch him if he falls.
> 
> The song for this is Heavy Metal by Bring Me The Horizon

“Here we are.”

Taio followed Din across the smokey landscape that was Nevarro. It was quiet, a stillness hanging in the air that seemed to muffle the sounds around them.

“Mando!” Karga called warmly from his office.

Din entered wordlessly.

Taio hesitated at the door, looking around suspiciously. Something was off. “What's going on?” he asked, internally cringing at how small and uncertain he sounded.

“We've had an interesting couple of weeks. I hope you've managed to stay out of trouble.” Karga said, his friendly attitude cooling as he looked at Taio.

“What's been interesting?” Din asked.

“There's been a steady stream of New Republic folks coming in. They say they want to talk to you. Something about the Jedi temple?”

Din's breath caught in his throat, but Karga was still looking at Taio.

“You didn't say anything about being a Jedi.” Karga added.

“Technically, I'm not. I never finished my training.” Taio replied, leaning against the door jamb casually, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You didn't think that was something the guild should know? Maybe at least warn us that we were employing a legendary sorcerer?” Karga drawled slowly.

“That's my former life. Why would anyone care?” Taio asked calmly.

“I like to know how dangerous my bounty hunters are.” Karga explained.

“I'm already traveling with a Mandalorian. That should give you a pretty good idea.” Taio replied.

“You would think that, but I-”

“Stop it. He's not a Jedi. He already told you that. And he is traveling with me.” Din interjected.

“Traveling with or being trained by? You never did explain the arrangement between the two of you.” Karga pointed out.

Din glanced back at Taio, appraising under the helmet. “Being trained by.” he said. “And if anyone has a problem with that, they can take it up with me.”

“Alright, Mando. You win for now.” Karga slapped a handful of credits on the desk and started to count. “But if I have to deal with any more Imperial slime on my planet, I'm holding you personally responsible.”

Din let out an exasperated sigh. “He was just a kid when they tried to kill him! How is he now responsible for that?” he asked angrily.

“I suppose I should have just hidden myself on a tiny planet under an assumed name and never revealed myself.” Taio added sarcastically. “Oh, wait. I already did that. I ended up here anyway.”

Karga shook his head apologetically. “I'm not saying you shouldn't be here. I just would have liked it if you had been a little more forthcoming with your past.” he said.

Taio stared at him, cold and accusing. “So that's standard then, with everyone you enter in guild records?” he asked, giving Karga just enough time to blink guiltily before continuing. “Why me? Why do I get treated different?”

Karga didn't answer.

…

‘Stand up straight.’

‘Pay attention when I speak.’

‘Pray harder!’

‘Why can't you just be normal?’

‘Breathe through it.’

‘Don't cry.’

‘You are safe here.’

No, he wasn't.

Taio walked aimlessly along the lava flats, the voices of his past haunting him. From his father's rough, usually drunken drawl, to his older brother's whispered question, a fellow Padawan's comfort, and finally a Jedi master's assurance.

False assurance, he reminded himself. Broken promises.

They were supposed to keep him safe. The move from Corellia to Coruscant was to be an improvement. Not put him in more danger.

And now what? 

Now he didn't have anything.

No, that wasn't true. He had Din.

He closed his eyes and he felt their strong connection. He wasn't sure if he had ever felt something like that before.

He just knew he wasn't supposed to have it.

He breathed in the air laced with ash and sulphuric gas, looking at the pale blue sky.

He wasn't supposed to be there.

He was supposed to be dead.

Maybe it would have been easier that way.

Maybe the universe had messed up, giving him the parents it had. It had instilled him with too much of a survival instinct. One that made it impossible to continue the “brave, mysterious Jedi sorcerers are all extinct” story. Because here he was. One out of all of them.

He put more distance between himself and the town, repressing memories of smiling faces. They couldn't smile anymore, and he could… he could just survive.

Maybe it would help to tell Karga everything. Perhaps once he heard all the bloody details, he would stop asking. That would be great, but for the fact that he hadn't told Din any of it. Like, at all. Not even his master's name. And if anyone deserved to hear about his life, it was his honorary brother. 

…

He got back to the ship after dark, tired, thirsty, and covered in sweat and soot.

Din let him clean up first, occupying himself with reorganizing the storage compartments. It wasn't until Taio came out of his quarters in fresh clothes that Din spoke.

“I need to talk to you.” he said.

the dark part of Taio's mind said. But Din didn't try to get him to leave. Instead, he sat down with him in the hold and told him everything head been through in the last year. The kid he'd had was named Grogu, and, although he was fifty, he was still a child with big green ears and expressive black and brown eyes. He had also survived the Temple attack, Din said, though the details of his rescue were unknown. And a Jedi had come to get him because he had needed to be trained.

Of course. All younglings needed to be trained as soon as they began to show they had abilities. That made perfect sense, letting them loose would... Wait.

A Jedi had come to take Grogu away? There was at least one Jedi Knight out there?  
Where? He wanted to know.

Din didn't know.

How could he have let a stranger take his kid away?

“I wanted him to be safe.” Din had said.

“But you don't know where he is.” Taio pointed out.

“I don't. But I know he's safe.” Din insisted.

Taio paused, not sure if this was going to be a good idea or not. “I could try to find him.”

Din knew he wasn't offering his bounty hunting services. He could probably find the kid through the Force. “I know.” he said. “But he's with his own kind, where he's supposed to be.”

The phrase grated against Taio's nerves.  
“Yeah, but is he happy? Are you, for that matter?” he asked.

“It doesn't matter if I'm happy. It matters if he's safe.” Din replied stubbornly.

“I guess.” Taio sighed. “I wish you could visit him though.”

“Why?”

“You seem much happier talking about him. I can only imagine what you're like when he's actually around.” Taio shrugged.  
Din stared at him in silence.

“Dont give me that look. You know I'm right.” Taio told him with a grin. “You can't think I don't know what you're feeling by now.”

“You- you know how I feel? Is that a Force power?” Din stammered.

Taio smiled kindly. “No. I don't have that particular skill. I can read you in how you move.” he explained.

“Oh.” Din sighed in relief.

“I've just been around you for so long that I figured it out.”

“Okay.” Din didn't know how he felt about that.

“Where are we going?” Taio asked, changing the subject before he Din could get lost in heavy thoughts.

“Tatooine. We're looking for a smuggler in Mos Eisley.” Din replied with a quick clear of his throat.

“Oh.” Taio sat back, clearly disappointed.

“It's not as bad as you think.” Din chuckled softly. “You'll get more used to the heat and dealing with the people the more often you visit. And you probably won't have any head injuries this time.”

“Probably?” Taio asked incredulously.

“Yeah. Probably. No guarantees, though.” Din said, his head shaking slightly.

“Wait, are you laughing at me?” Taio asked, his eyes narrowed.

Din responded with a barely controlled huff of air coming out of his modulator.

“The fuck?” Taio asked loudly. “You're laughing at me because I got hurt doing what you told me to do? What kind of bantha shit is that?”

An honest to goodness bark of laughter answered him.

Taio was more than pleased with the outcome, but he continued to play along to see just how far the Mandalorian would take it. “I'm not talking to you anymore.” he grumbled.

“Finally, some peace.” Din said with mock relief.

“You know what? Fuck you, Din!”

Din fought to keep from laughing out loud.

Taio stared at him in mock irritation.

“I'm going to eat. And I'm going to enjoy it. In fact, I think I'll sit in the middle of the cargo hold and eat really slow to savor it. You know, cause I don't have to worry about anyone seeing my face.” he explained with an edge to his tone.

“I'll stay here and enjoy not having any life threatening head injuries.” Din replied evenly, not looking away from the controls.

“And starving. Don't forget that you'll be starving.” Taio added.

“I'll try not to crash on landing because I wasn't properly nourished.” Din said dryly.

“You do that.” Taio stood and walked out of the cockpit, towards the small kitchen area, where he heated up some leftover stew. He danced happily a bit when he found that they still had some of those crusty rolls he loved.

After scooping his portion, he dutifully poured the rest into a bowl for Din, topping if off with a roll and delivering it to his friend before he sat to eat.

“Where did you get this?” Din called down the hall after a few moments of quiet eating.

“I… made it on Numidian Prime before you got back.” Taio admitted. “Found these fat little furry things in the trees. We had the veggies in cryostore.”

“Oh.” Din sounded truly surprised. “It's good.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” Din swallowed. “Fat little furry things?” he asked.

“Hey, I don't know. I tried one and didn't die, so I figured everything would work out.” Taio shrugged even though Din couldn't see him. “Anyway.”

“Do you think you could teach me to use the Force? Even just a bit?” Din asked before he lost his nerve.

“Wow, you really do miss him.” Taio muttered to himself.

“What?”

“Uh, maybe? I don't know. I've never tried to teach anyone before. Don't know if your Force sensitive. Probably not. But if it's everywhere, maybe you could do something, even if you couldn't feel it right.” Taio trailed off as he spoke, barely audible to Din's ears. “Let me think about it.” he said.

“Sure.”

“How long until we get there?” Taio asked.  
“Three hours.” Din answered, modulated again.

“Do you want to sleep?” Taio came to retrieve the bowl and spoon he'd given him.

“No. You rest. I'll sleep later.” Din decided.

“Okay.”

Taio did the dishes and refilled his water bottle before settling in his perfectly comfy mattress, finding that soft spot that felt like it was made for him. Three hours wasn't so long. He actually had a chance of sleeping that long.

…

It was hot and bright when he was awoken by a different modulated voice. Like some horrific dream, Boba Fett was standing over him, similar to when they had first met.

“How… Fu… What?” Taio gasped.

Boba responded with a hearty laugh. “Time to get up, boy! Are you ready to go hunting?”

“I mean, yeah, but what sort of Jawa fucker wakes someone up like that? And who lets him?” Taio asked, sitting up to see Din standing by the open door. Obviously the ramp was also open, letting the sunlight inside.

Din merely shrugged. “I told Fett I'm teaching you how to be the best bounty hunter. He wanted to help.” he said.

“Well, fuck. I don't know how to feel about this.”

“You nod your head nice and sharp and say ‘Thank you, Boba’.” Fett said with a demonstration.

“Thank you, Boba.” Taio replied dutifully.  
“Good. Now meet me outside in two minutes with your lightsaber.”

“How do you know about that?”

“Every Jedi had one. I want to see you use yours.” Boba said, leaving him to get dressed.

“You couldn't have warned me?” he asked Din quietly a minute later.

“He wanted to see you.” Din shrugged. “You were actually sleeping this time, so I let you rest as long as possible.”

“Well, I guess I should thank you for that.” Taio said.

“You should.”

“T! Get down here!” Boba's voice drifted up to them.

“Coming!” Taio called, and jogged down, the unfamiliar bounce of his lightsaber on his hip.

“Now, turn it on and come at me.” Boba instructed.

“What.” Taio deadpanned.

“Come at me. You won't hurt me through my armor.”

“No, you shoot at me.”

“I'd kill you.”

“You'd miss.” Taio assured him.

Boba held back a biting retort. “Just turn the damn thing on.”

Taio hesitated. He wasn't sure when he had last done that.

Boba lost his patience and grabbed his blasters shooting just past Taio's left thigh. Purely on instinct, Taio clicked his weapon on and moved to block, angling the shot back across the empty sand.  
Boba continued to shoot, aiming for more vital parts, Taio easily, smoothly, swinging and blocking those as well. Boba increased his pace and changed up his aim, going from one side to the other. Taio whipped his lightsaber around in a dazzling display.

All Din could see was a blue blur, all he could hear was a near constant low hum. He was entranced. So this was where Taio's quiet grace came from. He was magnificent with the blade, making Din wonder what he would be like with two, one in each hand like the other Jedi he had met.

Boba increased his speed again, and charged. Taio held his own for a good thirty seconds before he was bouncing on his back on the sand, a green Mandalorian standing over him.

“Not bad.” Boba said, helping him up.

“Thanks. It's been a while.” Taio said. “I told you I could block it.”

“You did. But your transition into close combat needs work.”

“Probably because no one ever formally taught me that.” Taio replied, catching his breath.

Din jogged back to the ship to retrieve Taio's water bottle.

“Thanks.” Taio said gratefully.

“Good, then you won't have any bad habits I need to break you of.” Boba said, pleased. “Now let's try again. Turn your lightsaber on, and I'll come at you, but slowly so you can go through the right defensive sequence. We'll go through it faster later.”

“Okay.” Taio clicked his thumb, and was immediately distracted. “Huh.”

“What?” Din asked, holding up a hand to stop Fett from charging.

“It's darker than it used to be.” Taio said, looking at the colored beam. “Was it this shade of blue when I first turned it on?”

“Yes.” Din assured. “It was always that color.”

“Why did it get darker?” Taio wondered.

“You can think about it later.” Boba interjected. “Right now, focus!”

Taio shook his head. “Right. Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week, guys. Stupid emotions being stupid and all that. Also, I dislike having friends sometimes. It's like giving over control of your feelings to someone else, which is probably why poor Taio is never in control of his life.  
> Enjoy my self-therapy!
> 
> Also have a good weekend! Hug your kids/pets!
> 
> I don't think there's any Mando'a in this. Will remember to keep using it in the future.


	8. Little Do You Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taio gets a chance to prove himself, but the Empire remnants aren't far behind...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for extensive use of strong language, mentioned child abuse, violence of a training sort, and one threat of missing limbs.
> 
> This was going to go in a completely different direction, but Din decided otherwise. Sorry, y'all, I can't argue with Mando.
> 
> Yes, I posted this early because I've been stressing over it for a week and I'm finally happy with it.

“Fuck!” Taio shouted as he landed on the unforgiving floor again.

“Try again.” Came the calm reply.

“Why? I'm just gonna end up back here.” Taio grumbled, pulling himself up to a sitting position.

“Because next time it might not be me going to attack you. Next time might be for real, and no one is going to aim to simply disable the companion of a Mandalorian.” Boba drew his gaze to Din, who stood at the other end of the underground gym, practicing with his beskar spear.

Taio sighed as he watched his elegant movements.

“You should at least be able to hold your own next to him.” Boba told him.

“Against normal people, I usually can.” Taio said, but hauled himself up.

“We aren't normal people.” Boba assured him, patting him on the shoulder before stepping back into a ready stance. “One more time, T.”

…

“I feel kinda bad for burning your paint.” Taio told him as another spot of green sizzled on his shoulder plate.

“It's okay. It needs another coat anyway.”  
Boba stepped back and whipped out his blaster, firing off a few rounds before coming back in with his staff. Taio blocked the shots easily, hopped the end of the staff, and threw up his lightsaber to block the other end. He pushed back hard, forcing Boba to slide back a step.

Smiling to himself, Boba came at him again. Taio answered with the same calm, his aggressive movements the only thing that indicated his mood. After what seemed like another hour, Taio thought he saw an opportunity to end it. Boba's left foot shuffled weirdly, and he had to use his staff to steady himself. Taio immediately went for it, knocking the staff out from under him just as the top came down to knock his lightsaber out of his hand. Taio made sure that the staff flew out as well, slamming his metal hilt into Boba's fingers, and they both jumped back, blasters aimed at each other.

Boba relaxed first, taking his helmet off to reveal a huge grin.

“Good job!” he said. “Perfect. Now you can get cleaned up and we'll go out and find this quarry of yours.” He turned and swept out of the room without waiting for a response.

Taio sighed hugely and let himself fall back on the floor. What had he down to deserve this? He asked himself as he stared at the ceiling.

Din's head appeared above him, peering down curiously.

“How do you wear that thing in here?” Taio asked tiredly. “I'm dripping in sweat and I don't have five pounds of padded metal sitting on my head.”

“You'll get used to it.” Din answered lightly, sitting next to him.

Taio ignored the implication, choosing instead to stretch for his water.

“I saw that last sequence.” Din told him.

“Oh, yeah? Good. I'm glad I got the chance to impress you.” Taio replied, not really knowing what to say.

“You did.” Din said.

“Was this what you were expecting when you brought us here?” Taio asked. “Endless hours of training?”

“No. But you have to admit that you're having fun. It beats moping in the lava flats.” Din leaned back to rest on his hands.

“I was perhaps thinking too much.” Taio admitted. “I just want to live my life. I don't want to deal with the New Republic or what's left of the Empire anymore. And I don't want Greef to give me any, well, grief about it.”

“The thing about him is that he tries to act like a father figure.” Din explained. “He wants to help you.”

“I get that. I do. But I have never been good with father figures. My father was not good. Entirely the opposite of everything he should have been. He cared more about the church and what the Maker thought of him than he did his own children. He would make us pray multiple times a day and punish us for not doing it right or concentrating enough, I was never really sure what I did wrong. Then when I got to the temple, I had to think of everyone, even my own master, as distant relatives rather than the close knit family the council wanted us to be. I was just… too broken.”

“What changed?” Din wondered. “You're obviously different now.”

“I think I grew out of it. That or I just stopped caring.”

“I don't think that's true.” Din said.  
“Yeah? Well, you I believe.” Taio replied. “Don't know what that says for the Jedi Council. I'll trust a couple of bounty hunters over them.” he added.

“You're also older now and a much better judge of character.” Din pointed out, a bit smugly.

“Sure, we'll go with that.” Taio grinned. “Just please don't prove me wrong.” He hoped his desperation wasn't showing too much.

“Of course not.” Din told him. “Without you, I'd have to carry all the heavy bounties back myself. Now I have you to do it for me.”

“I knew it!” Taio shouted.

Din laughed as Taio pulled himself up. “I knew you were making me do all the heavy work!”

Taio playfully stormed off, muttering something about running and diets, when he paused at the door.

“You coming?”

“Yeah.” Din rushed to join him.

…

Din, unfortunately, was waylaid by Peli, who wanted to discuss the state of their ship, probably having something to do with the fact that the hyperdrive had fried multiple components, despite the fact that it hadn't been on at the time. After a long-suffering sigh and an annoyed grunt, Din was off to the hangar to see what could be done.

Which is how Taio found himself laying on a rooftop next to Boba Fett while Fennec looked on from another roof nearby.

“What do you see?” Boba asked.

Taio shook his head lightly, still not used to having Boba so close to his ear.

“He's across the street in the cafe, trying to flirt with the server.” Taio watched as his mark attempted a charming smile and reached out to touch the young woman's hand. The woman visibly cringed and backed away, probably apologizing unnecessarily.

“This guy sucks.” Taio laughed.

“So you know what you do?” Boba said. “You walk in there with all your Jedi charisma and get her attention. He'll be pissed enough to approach you himself. Once he's close, you got him.”

Taio shook his head. “This is stupid. I'm just gonna grab him.” he replied.

“That would work if you were a tall and intimidating Mandalorian, but you have a different set of skills.”

“Are you saying I'm not intimidating?”

“I'm not saying anything except that you should stick to your particular skill set.” Boba replied.

Taio stared at him. “So Mando gets to shoot things and I basically just get to stand around and flirt.” he said flatly.

Boba shrugged. “You do what you're good at.”

Taio's mouth fell open in shock, then his expression turned into a disgusted glare. “I am good for more than that.” he said forcefully, if not loudly. They were near the quarry, after all.

“Okay, then pretty boy. Go show us you're not just a face.” Boba challenged.

“I'm… You…” Taio took a deep breath to calm himself. “I would think that you already knew that.” he said in a carefully controlled tone. “But whatever. I guess I was wrong.”

With that, he stood and walked quickly to the ladder that led down the side of the building, barely touching any rungs on the way down, but still landing noiselessly.

“You got him, Fennec?” Boba asked into his comm link.

“Yeah. He's headed over. Should be within your sight again soon.”

Just to fuck with them, Taio blended into the crowd for a good three minutes before walking to the cafe. Boba's words rang in his ears. Pretty boy. Do what you're good at. He hadn't survived this long by relying on his looks.

Wait.

Had he?

No!

He was a Jedi. That was what had gotten him this far.

Fuck that guy.

And fuck this guy, who was harassing the server again.

Taio didn't bother to ask for his own table. He just walked over and sat down across from his quarry like he owned the place.

“Uh… Can I help you?” the smuggler asked, visibly nervous.

“Finish your drink. We have to go.” Taio replied coldly.

“Uh, what?”

Taio tossed the bounty puck on the table, pressing it on to show the man's face.  
“This you?” he asked.

Receiving nothing but an open mouth as a response, he continued. “Looks like you. Tracking fob says it's you.”

“I- I didn't-”

“I don't care. This says I have to bring you in. This part right here,” he pointed to the small print below the man's picture. “says that I don't have to bring you in alive. But I've had a busy week and you look heavy, so I'd rather avoid carrying you back to my ship.”

The smuggler glared with a sudden surge of confidence. “I'm not going anywhere with you.”

“You think I said that for my benefit?” Taio laughed. “Fine, then. You get two options.” He pulled out his favorite blaster and his cuffs, placing them on the table between them. “Pick one.”

“You won't kill me.” the smuggler said.

“Try me.”

They stared at each other for a minutes until Taio leaned back, breaking the tension. He removed his bounty puck and the blaster, and put them away.

The smuggler laughed.

Taio smiled. “Note that that said dead or alive. It said nothing about missing limbs.” he said.

“Wha-”

Taio slammed his lightsaber on the table where his blaster had been.

“You also don't need your arms to walk.” he reminded him.

The smuggler gulped, a thin layer of sweat coating his brow.

“Pick. One.” Taio told him forcefully.

The smuggler stammered. “Um… I… Uh…”

“All right.” Taio sighed, picking up the lightsaber and standing up to hold it over his head. His thumb was on the on button when the man finally broke.

“The cuffs! I'll take the cuffs!” he squeaked.

“Wonderful. Here.” Taio leaned to toss them over to him and he cuffed himself without further argument.

“Bitch.” Taio mumbled to himself as he led the man out.

“I did what you said, didn't I?” the smuggler asked in confusion.

“Not you.” Taio replied coldly, shooting a glare at the rooftop across the street. “Let's go.”

“What did you say to him?” Fennec asked, slightly shaken by Taio's change in demeanor.

“Just a little pep talk.” Boba said lightly. “Not much. I only reminded him of who he is.”

…

Din was talking to Peli when they arrived at the hangar. He paused just long enough to nod in approval before turning back to the short woman.

“Fucking walk. What?” Taio asked, tugging on the cuffs when his quarry stopped cold.

“What the fuck is that?” the smuggler asked fearfully.

“That,” Taio replied, moving to push his back as well. “is my partner. Where did you think I learned all my fancy tricks from?” Taio said mockingly.

“Oh, yeah? Your ship is garbage.” the man shot back.

“You know I still have the lightsaber. And I'm not sure where this newfound confidence is coming from, but I'd try not to piss off the Mandalorian if I were you.” Taio said.

“I'm just telling the truth. Trash ship, trash crew. You probably don't even have any armor.” he scoffed.

“And into carbon freeze you go.” Taio shoved him in, deftly grabbing his cuffs before the cycle started.

After storing him, Taio jogged back down into to the hangar. “Please tell me you have some caf brewing in the office.” he begged Peli.

“Sure do. Made it just the ways you like it.” She nodded proudly.

“I love you.” Taio said and headed inside.

“Just don't try to hide any credits in there to pay for it!” Peli shouted at his back.

“Make me!” he tossed over his shoulder.

“It's part of the service!” she said.  
“Anyway, Mando, you've got three options. You can…”

Din tuned her out as he watched Taio's jerky movement through the office window. He was obviously cursing to himself as he poured the cup of caf and walked out to sit on a crate in the shade.

“You get that?” Peli asked, looking between them.

“Yeah.” Din lied. “Just do what you can.” He walked over to join Taio. “Are you angry about something?” he asked.

“What would I have to be angry about?” Taio muttered, adjusting his pants legs around his boots instead of looking at him.

“I don't know. You seem pretty upset though.” Din told him carefully.

“Oh, I am pissed.” Taio admitted, looking up, his eyes sparkling in barely controlled rage. “That mother fucker-”

He was cut off by a blaster shot echoing off the back of the hangar.

They scrambled up and through the storage area, coming out the back door just as Boba landed, his blaster still pointed at a figure lying on the ground.

“Saw this one following you earlier.” he said to Taio. “I figured he was just a rival hunter until I caught sight of this.” Boba rolled the body over and lifted the flap of the man's jacket to reveal an Imperial symbol.

Din's mind was racing. What else could they do? Keep moving, probably. They couldn't stop anywhere. Not for long, anyway. What he needed was a covert, somewhere Taio could go where he would be safe.

Taio just stared, watching as all of his newfound freedom was stripped away by the same people who had taken it before. He was consumed then, memories flashing behind his eyes as he stared at the symbol. It would never stop. This was never going to end, not until they killed him. Why couldn't he have just died? He wasn't good enough anyway. He was just a little-

“Taio!”

Din was shouting his name.

Slowly, Taio dragged his gaze upward, seeming confused as to why the Mandalorian was even talking to him.

“Huh?” He blinked a couple of times, as if it would help clear his head.

“Go back to the ship. Tell Peli we have to leave.” Din said, pronouncing each syllable clearly.

“But… You're not…” Taio stammered. He looked over the desert as a new memory took over, painting a horrific picture in his head. Those clone troopers probably sounded like Boba, he realized dimly.

Din and Boba were talking now, he realized, though he couldn't understand what they were saying.

Oh, yeah. The building was on fire that night. How, though? Had someone set it? Had it been Master Skywalker? Or was it one of the not-Boba, but sounded-exactly-like-Boba clones?

There was his name again. He didn't bother to look this time.

Yeah, it was probably one of them.

A hand gripped his shoulder, tight.

He finally looked, the Mandalorians staring at him.

“What?” he asked stupidly, his mind still half in the past.

“Come on.” Din pulled him through the door, past Peli's storage area, and onto their ship. He didn't stop until he was pressing Taio gently down on the side of his cot.

“Sit.” Din ordered softly.

Taio obeyed, not really aware enough to do anything else.

Din disappeared for a second, returned to hand him his precious water bottle, and was gone again. Taio heard voices outside, then inside the ship, Fennec and Boba were over him, clapping him on the shoulders and saying something, they left, and he felt the engines roar to life under his feet.

He sat there for a while, waiting for his brain to restart, but everything still looked oddly clear and out of place. Maybe Din would come back once they were in hyperspace, but he wasn't sure what he want to say to him. Eventually, he wandered through the ship, looking at the quarry he had just caught, exploring the cabinets he already knew the contents of, finally making his way into the cockpit to fall into his normal seat.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” he asked.

“You're in shock.” Din explained.

“Hm. You'd think I've been through enough.” Taio remarked humorlessly.

“I think that's it. You've been through too much. Your brain doesn't know how to handle it anymore.” Din said.

“So what's the solution then? More rest?” Taio asked.

“For now.” Din answered.

Taio's eyes narrowed. He didn't like the way that sounded. “What do you mean ‘for now?’”

Din sighed. “I mean you should rest until we get to Nevarro.”

“But we aren't supposed to go to Nevarro next. We're supposed to go to Savareen.” Taio replied, feeling a bit like the rug had been pulled out from underneath him.

“We're going to Nevarro so I can ask Cara to contact the New Republic and find out where the Jedi took Grogu.” Din said slowly.

“Oh, so you just want to go see him then.” Taio replied, letting his voice become casual, though he suspected that wasn't it.

“No.” Din admitted, not looking at him.

Taio swallowed painfully. “Then why are you asking?” he asked in a tiny, scratchy voice.

“Because I can't protect you anymore.” Din told the console.

There. That was it, right there. The bombshell.

“You said I could stay.” Taio said, amazed at how normal he sounded.

“I know.”

“You promised that we would figure this out.”

“I did.”

“So…you lied.” Taio let the words hang in the air between them, taking up too much space.

Din felt sick at the accusation, knowing that Taio was right, but so was he. “I didn't know how hard it was going to be on you.” he tried to explain, fighting to keep his voice steady. “You deserve more than this life, and I can't-” His voice broke, choking through the modulator. “I can't give you everything you need.”

Taio stared at the side of his helmet. “So the solution to that is to give up?” he asked in disbelief. “It's too hard to think so you're just gonna get rid of me?”

Din breathed, but didn't respond.

“Fine. Take me to somewhere New Republic, then and I'll turn myself in.”

“We're going to Nevarro where I will talk to Cara.” Din reiterated strongly.

“Whatever.” Taio huffed and stormed out closing the door to his room with a tightly controlled snap.

…

Taio stared straight ahead at the planet as they landed, not giving Din the satisfaction of a response to any of the short commands he'd barked. He stayed silent as the engines died and he went to grab his things, his pack considerably heavier now that he'd acquired more clothing and a lot more weapons.

He could feel Din watching him as they walked through the streets, but he ignored it, keeping his face forward and impassive.

“Boys!” Karga called, his arms open in a warm welcome. “Back so soon?”

“I need to speak with Cara.” Din replied without hesitation.

Karga glanced at Taio, worry crinkling his forehead slightly. “She had some New Republic business to attend to. She should be back any minute.” he said.

They followed his lead and stepped back out, catching sight of Cara walking towards them, talking to two people in orange jumpsuits.

X-wing pilots. Perfect.

Taio quickly walked over to them, ignoring Din's strangled shout and the sound of feet that followed him. He stopped right in front of the older pilot, a man with gray hair and a beard, who looked at him curiously but warily.

“I need to know where the new Jedi temple is.” Taio announced.

Cara glanced at Mando, her mouth open in shock.

“Why is that?” the pilot asked.

Din was frozen. He wanted to interrupt, stop this madness, grab him, something, anything, but he couldn't move. He couldn't make a sound as Taio spoke, his voice dripping in conviction and confidence.

“Because I used to live in the old one.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry x 1000.
> 
> Had to be done, guys, I'm sorry.
> 
> The good news is this is definitely going in a specific direction now. The bad news... Well, you'll learn that part soon enough.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I really do love you guys!
> 
> As always, stay safe and have a wonderful weekend!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Much love to you and yours!


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